Harry's New Guardian
by RavenGhostWriter
Summary: Harry is taken away from the Dursleys and raised by Albus Dumbledore. With Hogwarts as his home, Harry's life is different but he still manages to get into plenty of trouble. This story is AU.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters and locations belong to J.K. Rowling. No copyright infringement is intended.

 **Chapter 1: The Visitor**

Two-year-old Harry Potter was freezing as he lay huddled in his cupboard. His tummy rumbled; the Dursleys hadn't given him much food, just scraps from Dudley's meals. That morning, Harry accidentally broke one of Dudley's toys, causing his aunt to throw him into the cupboard without dinner. Harry tried to sleep but felt shivery and too stuffed up to rest. He whimpered loudly. "Boy!" Yelled Uncle Vernon, "I hope you're asleep because I'm coming to check!" Harry shook under the threadbare blanket as Uncle Vernon came in and rolled him over. Seeing wide eyes, Uncle Vernon snarled, "Another week locked in here for disobedience. Now go to sleep!" Harry trembled as Uncle Vernon slammed the cupboard door, setting the lock in place. Though he knew it wouldn't happen, Harry wished someone would take him away from his aunt & uncle.

 _Meanwhile, at Hogwarts:_

"How many times have I told you?" Professor Minerva McGonagall shouted, glaring at Dumbledore. "The poor boy is not cared for there!" "Now Minerva, you know the reason I put him there," said Albus Dumbledore. Professor McGonagall growled, "Listen Albus, all I ask is that you check up on him. And maybe then you'll see my point." "Very well" said Dumbledore, "I'll go check up on him now."

 _Meanwhile, at the Dursleys:_

Harry awoke to approaching footsteps. The door to the cupboard creaked open. He felt a hand on his shoulder and pulled away. "Stop!" he cried. A gentle male voice said, "Harry" as he felt the hand roll him onto his back. It was a kind-looking man with a long, white, beard; definitely not Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, or Dudley. The quiet voice continued, "Harry, I'm going to get you out of here because you are cold and sick." Harry felt arms lift him up as a hand guided his head onto the strange man's shoulder. A moment later, they were gone.

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	2. Harry's New Home

Disclaimer: Any character or location you recognize belongs to the wonderful J.K. Rowling and the Harry Potter universe.

Chapter 2: Harry's New Home

Harry found himself in front of a large building that looked like a castle from one of Dudley's storybooks. Harry gasped as they entered the castle. Ahead was a long hall with staircases facing in every direction. Candles, not light bulbs lit the space.

Suddenly, a voice shouted, "You're back!" Harry stiffened in fear. A scary woman was running toward Harry and the man. She looked mad as she snapped, "Do you believe me now, Albus?"

"Yes, yes I do Minerva," said the man. "Minna?" Harry asked. Minerva looked at Harry, her face softening. "Hello Harry, how are you?" she said gently with a slight smile. "Okay," Harry shyly replied. "You may call me Minna, at least until you get older," she said gently.

Minerva looked sharply at the man holding Harry. With raised eyebrows, she asked, "Albus, aren't you going to introduce yourself?" The kind man answered, "Oh right. Harry, my name is Albus. Can you say Albus?" "Alby!" said Harry. "Good enough," said Dumbledore. Harry grinned. Professor McGonagall hurried down some stairs and out of sight.

Dumbledore carried Harry to the staffroom to meet the other teachers. As Dumbledore pushed open the door carrying Harry, the staff got up and crowded around them. "Aww, so cute!" said Professor Sprout. "Charming!" said Professor Flitwick. "He'll be a Quidditch player someday!" said Madam Hooch excitedly. "Quiddy?" said Harry. "Quidditch, dear. Can you say Quidditch?" queried Madam Hooch. "Quiddy!" repeated Harry, giggling.

"So this is the Potter brat?" Snape asked. Dumbledore nodded. Snape stepped back, looking disgusted. "Oh Severus, he's not that bad," said Dumbledore. "Sevvy?" Harry asked. Snape glared at Harry. "YOU WILL NOT CALL ME SEVVY!" he yelled, stepping forward. Harry's eyes widened as he started to cry.

"Severus! Don't yell!" Madam Pomfrey exclaimed. "Is he healthy, Headmaster?"

Dumbledore shook his head sadly as Harry's tears turned in coughs. "I'm afraid the Dursleys let him starve and get sick." Madam Pomfrey bustled over to Harry and took out her wand. "He will need to stay the night in the hospit..." "No Poppy," said Dumbledore firmly. "I would like Harry to get settled in my quarters. He's already had a long day. If you so wish, you could check him over in my private quarters. However, he is not ill enough to stay in the hospital wing." Madam Pomfrey was about to protest, but Dumbledore was already out the door, heading for his rooms.

Dumbledore kissed Harry goodnight as he tucked him into bed. Just as Harry was drifting off to sleep, Dumbledore whispered, "Welcome Harry, to Hogwarts. Your new home."


	3. A Weasley and A Granger

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters and places belong to J.K. Rowling. No copyright infringement is intended.

Chapter 3: A Weasley And a Granger

Four Years Later:

As six-year-old Harry wandered through the halls of Hogwarts, a boy approached him. "Hey, you're Harry Potter, aren't you?" said the strange boy. "Yes, who are you?" Harry asked. "I'm Percy Weasley and I'm a first year. I have a brother named Ron, who is your age," said Percy.

"Wow!" said Harry. "I want to meet him!"

"I'll send him a letter," said Percy. "And I'll talk to your guardian."

Harry ran back up to Dumbledore's office. Dumbledore was working when Harry ran in. "Harry, you look excited about something," he said. "What is it?" "I just met Percy Weasley, and he told me about his little brother Ron!" Harry said. "I want to meet him!"

"Ah, yes. I've heard about Ronald Weasley," said Dumbledore. "Of course you can meet him. I will contact Mrs. Weasley tonight to set up a visit. I'll have Fawkes take you over there if it is ok." Harry smiled brightly.

The next day, Dumbledore allowed Fawkes to take Harry to the Weasleys' home. When he arrived at the door, a man opened it. "Hello," he said. "You're Harry? Come in!" He held the door open for Harry. Immediately, several redheaded children surrounded him, all trying to talk at once. "I'm Fred!" said a boy. "And I'm George!" said another. "And we're twins!" they said together. A little girl came up to him. She looked about 5 years old. "I'm Ginny," she said softly. She blushed and hurried away. Another spoke up after she fled. He looked at Harry and said, "I'm Ron. Ron Weasley."

A woman came running out of the kitchen. "Oh! You must be Harry!" she exclaimed, looking at him before saying brightly, "I'm Mrs. Weasley. How are you dear?" "Hi, I'm well," answered Harry shyly.

Mrs. Weasley turned and exclaimed, "Boys!" Fred and George were using the sink to fill water balloons.

"Is someone new here, Mrs. Weasley?" a girl's voice asked. Mrs. Weasley turned towards the voice. A girl with bushy hair was standing just inside the kitchen. "Oh! Hermione! Yes dear. Harry Potter is here." Hermione smiled. "Hello," she said, looking at Harry.

Harry was starting to feel overwhelmed. There were too many people in the room and he wasn't used to the commotion. Mrs. Weasley seemed to sense this, because she suddenly said to Ron, "Why don't you take Harry and Hermione up to your room? I'll be calling you down for lunch soon."

She turned around and shouted, "Fred and George Weasley! Put down those water balloons this instant!" Too late, Fred and George threw the balloons at Harry, drenching him. Mrs. Weasley turned around quickly to look at Harry. She took out her wand and muttered a spell under her breath. In an instant, the water was gone, and Harry was dry again. "Er, thank you," he said shyly. "Of course Harry dear," said Mrs. Weasley.

Ron grabbed Harry and Hermione's hands, pulling them towards the stairs. "Let's reintroduce ourselves," said Hermione in a business-like voice, similar to the voice Professor McGonagall used when teaching. "I'm Hermione Granger, Muggle-born," she informed them. "I'm Ron Weasley, pure-blood," said Ron. "And I'm Harry Potter, half-blood," said Harry. Hermione nodded with a smile. "Good," she said.

"Er, Hermione, how did you find out that you're a witch?" Harry asked. "Usually Muggle-borns don't find out until they're 11." "Actually," said Hermione, in the same business-like voice. "Unusual things started happening to me, and once, I was in the store finding apples for my family, when they dropped and rolled all across the floor. I was panicking, but before I could lean down to pick them up, they picked themselves up, and a woman was nearby, and she said that I was a witch. At first, I didn't believe her, but then she said that I could get proof by going to Diagon Alley. She told me how to get there, and I went. Now, Harry, do you know how to read?"

"Er, I know how to read short sentences," Harry said. "Oh," said Hermione. "I know more than that. I can already read chapter books! You haven't started school yet, have you?" she asked. "Er, no," Harry said. This Hermione girl was starting to annoy him. She was nice, but she seemed to know more than him.

"How did you and Ron meet?" he finally asked after a long silence.

"We met in Diagon Alley," Ron said. "We were getting Percy's school books, and Hermione was in there too." "I'm already starting to read our first year books!" Hermione said excitedly. She started to launch into a conversation that neither Harry nor Ron understood. Harry decided that he was going to give Hermione a chance, even though she seemed to be a know-it-all.

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	4. The First Day of School

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters and places belong to J.K. Rowling. No copyright infringement is intended.

Chapter 4: The First Day of School

On the first day of primary school, Harry was excited to learn Hermione would be attending the same school and would be in his class. Yet Harry was assigned a seat next to a boy named Dudley. "Hey, Potty Pants!" he exclaimed happily. "My name is Harry, not 'Potty Pants" Harry said. Throughout the day, Dudley called him names, picked on him, and told on him for no reason.

Hermione eagerly raised her hand every time the teacher asked a question. Whenever the teacher asked Harry a question that he didn't know, Hermione would throw him a "You should know this" look.

At recess, Dudley and his friends started calling Harry swear words, which Harry was brought up to never say. After Dudley called him the B word, a voice rang out from behind them. "Stop!" Harry and Dudley whirled around. It was Hermione. She had her hands on her hips while glaring at Dudley. She continued, "If you continue to call Harry those names, I will tell a teacher!"

"Oh, shut up, Know-it-all," Dudley muttered.

"Excuse me?" Hermione asked sternly. "I am NOT a know-it-all! If I knew everything, I wouldn't have to attend school. Leave Harry alone!"

After one last mean look, Dudley walked away. "Thanks Hermione" Harry said to her. "You're welcome Harry," she said, smiling.

When he got back to Hogwarts, Harry was crying. He found Dumbledore in his office. "Harry! How was you first day?" Seeing Harry's tears, Albus asked, "What's wrong?"

"A mean boy called me bad words and picked on me all during school today!" Harry said.

Looking alarmed, Albus gently pulled the boy into a hug. "Who was mean to you Harry?"

Between sniffles, Harry stammered out, "D-D-Dudley Dursley" Albus tightened his hold, as he spoke softly, "Harry, Dudley shouldn't have done that to you. He's your cousin."

Harry gasped. "M-my cousin?" he croaked.

"Yes. His parents, your aunt and uncle, took you in after your parents died. But they did not take good care of you, so I rescued you in the middle of the night. That was four years ago and you will stay with me." He kissed Harry on the forehead then placed him in a chair next to him. "I will make sure that Dudley doesn't hurt you again, Harry."

"Thank you," Harry whispered.

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	5. Dudley's Mistake

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters and locations belong to the amazing J. K. Rowling. No copyright infringement is intended.

Chapter 5: Dudley's Mistake

Harry liked school. It was fun because of Hermione. She was his only friend there. Dudley always tried hurting Harry, but Hermione was always threatened him with telling their teacher or Harry's guardian. Their teacher, Mrs. Pickle kept an eye on the interactions between Harry and Dudley; starting on the second day of school when Harry brought her a note from his guardian, explaining that he wished to be informed if there were any further troubles.

One day, Mrs. Pickle noticed Hermione was absent for the first time. Hermione never missed school. Mrs. Pickle was concerned. While she was teaching, Dudley reached over to Harry's desk and took his paper. "Hey!" Harry yelled. "Give that back!" Dudley tore the paper into pieces before throwing the pieces at Harry. "Mrs. Pickle, Dudley ripped my paper!" Harry cried. Mrs. Pickle was angry. "Dudley, please come up here," Mrs. Pickle said. Dudley walked up to the front of the room, smirking. Mrs. Pickle gave him a note to give to his parents.

Harry was glad when the bell rang signaling the end of the school day. He jumped up, preparing to race out of the room. Mrs. Pickle's voice halted him, "Harry, may I come with you when you go meet Mrs. Figg?" Confused, Harry asked why. Mrs. Pickle explained she wanted to speak with Mrs. Figg about what happened with Dudley that day. Harry nodded and hurried out of the room with his teacher following behind.

When he reached where Mrs. Figg was waiting, Mrs. Pickle told her what happened and asked that she pass a message along to Mr. Dumbledore. Mrs. Figg took a deep breath. "I'll talk to Dudley's parents," she murmured. "I live right down the street from them. Harry, let's go." Harry and Mrs. Figg thanked the teacher and started walking. Harry used Mrs. Figg's floo connection to travel to and from school every day.

"Mrs. Figg, are you going to tell Albus?" Harry asked. Mrs. Figg responded, "It is better if you do. Now take some floo powder and let's go."

Stumbling out of the fireplace, Harry told Albus about the ripped up paper. Albus wasn't happy but listened quietly as Harry chattered about the rest of his day.

The next day, Hermione was back. When she heard about the day before, she threatened Dudley with saying that she would use magic on him if he did anything like it again. However, Dudley had other ideas. During recess, Dudley grabbed Harry and started hitting him. Harry tried to fight him off, but Dudley was too strong. Now Harry had bruises everywhere on his body. Mrs. Pickle was outside on recess duty with a few other teachers when she heard shrieks and laughter. Moving towards the commotion, she pushed through the crowd. "Dudley Dursley! Stop this right now! You are not allowed to hit another student," she shouted as she pulled him away from Harry.

"So? He's Harry Potter and deserves it!" Dudley said.

"Parent-teacher conferences are coming up soon, Dudley!" Mrs. Pickle said. "I will be telling your parents about you bullying students!" Dudley glared at his teacher. Mrs. Pickle dragged Dudley inside, making him sit quietly at a desk for the rest of recess. While supervising this time-out, Mrs. Pickle wrote a note to Mr. Dumbledore. She wrote:

Dear Mr. Dumbledore,

Dudley Dursley made a big mistake today. He bullied, punched, and kicked Harry many times. Harry is covered in bruises and potentially other injuries. Please come to the school to collect him.

From,

Mrs. Pickle

Mr. Dumbledore did not have a telephone so Mrs. Pickle didn't know how she was going to get this urgent message to him. Interrupting her thoughts, an owl suddenly appeared, took the paper and left back out of the window.

Meanwhile, at Hogwarts:

"Can't Gryffindors think? I gave him detention for a month" Snape sneered.

"Now Severus, I'm sure that the Gryffindor student didn't mean to blow up the potions classroom," said Dumbledore. An owl appeared in the window, interrupting their heated discussion, "What's that?" Snape snapped. Dumbledore took the letter from the owl and offered it an owl treat. He saw that it was paper and pencil, and said, "It's from Mrs. Pickle, Harry's teacher."

"What does she want? Is the Potter brat being a bad boy?" Snape snarled. After a moment Dumbledore said, "No. Harry's been injured at school. Please warn Poppy I will be bringing Harry to the hospital wing." Albus hurried from his office, apparating as soon as he was beyond the castle gates.

Meanwhile, at Harry's school:

Harry remained on the ground, curled in a ball, and sweating from fighting Dudley. Kids were laughing. It felt like ages before a sudden quiet descended as the laughter stopped. A pair of strong arms Harry knew well gently sat him up. Harry looked around. The first person he saw beside him was Mrs. Pickle. "What...'" he started but Mrs. Pickle cut him off. "Harry, you're too injured to stay here for the rest of the day. Mr. Dumbledore is here to take you home."

Harry nodded as he felt himself being lifted up and carried away from the other kids. He felt the familiar squeezing from apparation. Albus carried him up the path to the castle and into the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey was finishing up with a student as the headmaster entered. "Put him on a bed. What happened to him now?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"He was beaten up at school today," Dumbledore said. Madam Pomfrey immediately examined the boy sitting in front of her. "Since no magic was involved, I'll be able to fix this within seconds, I will get some bruise balm" she said. "Was it Dudley Dursley?" Dumbledore nodded. "Albus, you should go to the conference on Thursday, and talk to Mrs. Pickle about it, this cannot continue" said Madam Pomfrey. After a moment Albus agreed that he needed to go to the conference. After all, Minerva could watch Harry for the evening. Within just a few minutes, Madam Pomfrey pronounced Harry fully healed and let him out of the hospital wing.

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	6. The Conference

Disclaimer: All recognizable Harry Potter characters and places belong to J.K. Rowling. No copyright infringement is intended.

Chapter 6: The Conference

Professor McGonagall made her way to Dumbledore's office. Harry was sitting in a chair across from Dumbledore's desk when she arrived. "Hello Mr. Potter," she said briskly. "Go on Albus. Or you'll be late for the conference." Dumbledore looked at Harry. "I'll be back in an half hour, you don't need to wait in my office, you and Minerva can go home," he said before leaving the room.

When he arrived at the school, he made his way to Mrs. Pickle's classroom. Mrs. Pickle was seated at her desk, looking out the window. "Hello, Mrs. Pickle?" Mrs. Pickle jumped. "Oh! Hello Mr. Dumbledore! Please have a seat," she said. When he was seated, Mrs. Pickle started softly, "I'm sorry about the other day. Petunia and Vernon Dursley were pleased about Dudley's treatment of Harry."

"About that Mrs. Pickle... would it be possible for Harry and Hermione Granger to be switched into a different class? That way none of this will happen again. I know asking for Hermione to be moved might be too much but you said previously that she acts to protect him from Dudley."

Mrs. Pickle looked thoughtful. "I will talk with Mrs. Heart later this evening. If she agrees, we can move Hermione Granger and Harry into her class; effective tomorrow." Dumbledore, looking relieved, "Thank you Mrs. Pickle. Now, how is Harry doing academically in school?" Mrs. Pickle looked more enthusiastic with the change in topic, "Harry is one of the top students in the class. Rather smart, that boy." She handed him Harry's report card.

Harry James Potter

Grades 

Maths: Pass

English: Pass

Science: Pass

Geography: Pass

Art/Music: Pass

Dumbledore beamed. "I helped him study for writing and reading," he said.

"Well, you're a very good guardian and teacher to him. He is doing well and seems to be thriving with the work. You may want to meet with Mrs. Heart in a few weeks to be sure he is adjusting to his new class as every teacher has a slightly different teaching style." Mrs. Pickle continued, "Thank you for coming, Mr. Dumbledore."

"You're most welcome," said Dumbledore, standing up and leaving the room. Dumbledore exited the building, checking to make sure no one was around before disapparating back to Hogwarts. Inside, he found Harry contentedly playing exploding snap with Minerva, both seated on the floor in front of the sitting room fire. Harry and Minerva looked up as Albus entered the room.

When Albus didn't immediately speak, Minerva prompted, "How did it go?"

"Harry's teacher is very impressed with his studies. Also, he and Hermione will be moved into a new class with a new teacher tomorrow in order to stop the bullying from Dudley."

Harry jumped up and shouted, "No more Dudley?" Albus nodded, causing Harry to bean and jump around, shrieking with happiness. "Harry, calm down and please go get ready for bed," directed Albus patiently.

"I will see you two tomorrow at breakfast. Good night Harry, Albus." With that, Minerva left the room feeling much lighter now that there seemed to be a solution to the bullying problem at Harry's school.

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	7. Mrs Heart's Class

Thank you for all the reviews!

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters and locations belong to J.K. Rowling. No copyright infringement is intended.

Chapter 7: Mrs. Heart's Class

The sun was bright as Harry walked up to the school with Mrs. Figg. "I'm scared," he said to her. "What if one of Dudley's friends is in this new class?"

"Listen to me Harry," said Mrs. Figg. "Dudley always talks about his friends being in the same class as him. So you won't have to worry. And remember, Hermione will be in there with you. You'll be okay Harry."

"Harry!" a voice yelled. Hermione was running towards him, carrying 4 books. "Can you believe it?" she squealed when she got closer. "We're in a new class!"

"I know!" Harry said excitedly. "I'll see you after school Harry," said Mrs. Figg. Harry smiled as she turned to start her walk home.

Mrs. Heart stood in the front of the classroom, waiting for the bell to ring. One boy and one girl came running into the room. "Hello," she said to them. "I'm Mrs. Heart. Please take a seat at one of the empty tables." Right after the bell rang, Mrs. Heart announced, "Take out your pencils! We are going to be doing a spelling pre-test!" "Oh goody!" Hermione squealed.

The morning went well for Harry, though Mrs. Heart was a lot like Professor McGonagall. She always looked stern, glared at anyone who talked during class, and snapped at anyone who wasn't behaving.

The afternoon didn't go as smoothly. Harry liked to draw and often did so while listening to the teacher. Mrs. Pickle always gently told him to put it away for later. Mrs. Heart gruffly barked, "Harry, stop drawing! We're working on science right now." Harry glared at her, his temper rising. "You're mean!" he stated. "Do not make me tell you again!" commanded Mrs. Heart.

"Harry, listen to her!" Hermione hissed.

Harry stood up and shouted, "Well, you could be nice about it! And you know what? You and Mrs. Pickle should switch! You'd be perfect to yell at my cousin!"

"Sit down and listen please. Give me your drawing and I'll return it to you after school," Mrs. Heart sternly stated. Suddenly, she screamed as she glanced in her reflection in the window and saw her hair was blue. "Out!" she shrieked. "Out of my classroom! Go to the principal's office!"

"I didn't do anything…" Harry started, but Mrs. Heart cut him off. "I SAID GO!" She was in panic mode by now. She didn't understand what happened but it must relate to the upset child in front of her though it seemed unlikely. Harry left the room in tears.

"Mrs. Heart, Harry didn't mean to do it," Hermione tried telling her. Mrs. Heart took a deep breath. "I know," she said. "But I still can't figure out how." "How he did it?" Hermione asked. Mrs. Heart nodded. Hermione suspected it was an explosion of accidental magic but wasn't sure if she was allowed to tell the teacher.

"Settle down class, everyone back to work, please," said Mrs. Heart, clapping her hands to gain the students' attention.

Mr. Brown, the principal, looked up upon hearing Harry's knock. "Please have a seat Mr. Potter and tell me why Mrs. Heart sent you." Harry perched nervously on the edge of a chair. "Mrs. Heart told me to put away my drawing and I refused and talked back to her. Then her hair changed to blue and she shouted at me to leave."

Mr. Brown spoke calmly but firmly, "Mr. Potter you are not allowed to talk back to your teacher in a disrespectful manner just because you don't like what you were told to do. How did her hair change color?"

"I swear I didn't do it! I don't know how it happened! I'm sorry for shouting at Mrs. Heart," said Harry, in a rush as tears continued falling.

"Stop crying child, take a tissue. You will need to apologize to Mrs. Heart for shouting at her and ignoring her instructions. As for her hair, of course you're not responsible, how could you be? Its not as if magic exists," snapped Mr. Brown. "Now, sit here until you calm down and can return to class but I will be sending a note home with you for your guardian. Please wait here while I retrieve the letter from the printer."

Meanwhile, at Hogwarts:

"Albus Dumbledore!" a woman's voice called from the fireplace. Dumbledore hurried to the fireplace, kneeling to speak with the floating head. Mafalda Hopkirk spoke urgently, "Dumbledore, there's a trace of accidental magic at Harry's school. I'm sending Kingsley Shacklebolt, an obliviator, and you out to investigate." "Of course, I will meet them there," said Dumbledore.

Meanwhile, at Harry's school:

Harry was still sitting in Mr. Brown's office sobbing when the door opened. Harry looked up to see Albus standing in the doorway. Auror Shacklebolt was next to him, looking deep in thought. "Albus!" Harry squeaked, jumping up and running over to his guardian. Dumbledore pulled Harry into a hug and said softly, "Don't worry Harry. Mrs. Heart's hair is back to normal and we did a memory charm on her so she doesn't remember the color change and just thinks she sent you to see Mr. Brown because you were rude and shouted at her. Of your classmates, only Hermione remembers your burst of accidental magic and Auror Shacklebolt cautioned her against telling any of the kids or teachers. Mr. Brown remembers his reprimand of you but no longer knows about blue hair. You need to get back to class; Mr. Brown already gave me the letter about your misbehavior. Come along."

He gently guided Harry out of the principal's office and back to Mrs. Heart's classroom. "Now go," he whispered. "And don't mention blue hair to anyone." Harry ran back to class, hesitantly apologizing to Mrs. Heart before taking his seat.

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	8. The First Night At Hogwarts

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters and locations belong to J. K. Rowling.

The sorting ceremony information very closely follows the content of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Chapter 8: The First Night At Hogwarts

Five Years Later

Harry was now eleven. He was bouncing excitedly as he stood in line with the other first years waiting for the sorting ceremony to begin. The alphabet and sorting of those ahead of him seemed to take forever. He vaguely noted that Hermione was sorted into Gryffindor. Suddenly Professor McGonagall called his name. Harry quickly plopped down on the stool.

"Hmm, plenty of courage I see, not a bad mind either" said the Sorting Hat.

"Not Slytherin, PLEASE not Slytherin!" Harry whispered.

"Not Slytherin eh? Are you sure? Yes? Better be... GRYFFINDOR!"

Applause erupted as Harry jumped off the stool and joined his new housemates. He took the seat next to Hermione, who hugged him in excitement. Towards the end of the ceremony, Ron also joined the Gryffindors, causing Hermione to beam.

"Now that you're all sorted," said Professor McGonagall. "The headmaster would like to say a few words."

"Thank you Professor McGonagall," said Dumbledore, standing up. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts!" Harry stopped listening as Dumbledore went through his normal start of year speech, he'd heard it many times. When Professor Dumbledore sat down, the food appeared and the feasting began to the sounds of students excitedly chatting.

"What does Dumbledore mean by the third floor corridor out of bounds?" Ron asked Harry.

"What?" Harry asked. "I don't remember that being an announcement."

Hermione sighed. "Harry, Professor Dumbledore just told us!" she exclaimed. "Didn't you hear?"

"No. I was not listening," Harry said quickly.

"That would explain it," said Hermione. She sighed and got up from the table. "Well then," she said in her business-like voice. "I'm going to go find the library because I want more transfiguration books before classes start tomorrow."

As she rose from the table, Harry questioned, "Do you want me to show you where the library is, Hermione?"

Hermione paused long enough to answer, "Thank you but no, Harry. I remember what you described to me on the train. I'll see you two later after the feast in the common room. Oh, and Harry, do pay attention for now on." She quickly walked exited the hall.

Harry, turning to Ron, "But how is she going to get into the tower? She doesn't know the password!" Ron shrugged, returning his attention to his partially finished meal.

When they had finished, Percy called for the first years to follow him to Gryffindor Tower.

As they walked, Harry said quietly to Ron, "Well? What did Professor Dumbledore say about the third floor?"

"It is out of bounds, he did not say why. But he did say we could be killed if we go there," Ron said.

"This is not right," Harry said. "I should go talk to Professor McGonagall. Maybe she would know what's going on here." He turned in the direction of Professor McGonagall's office.

"Good evening, Mr. Potter," she said, opening the door. "What do you need?"

"Can I come in?" Harry asked. She raised her eyebrows but stepped aside to let him in. She closed the door and sat down at her desk.

"Do sit down," she said, indicating a chair. Harry nervously sat, waiting a moment before launching into speech.

"Er, Professor McGonagall, I didn't hear any announcement about the third floor corridor being out of bounds. But Ron and Hermione are convinced that Professor Dumbledore said something about that."

Immediately, Professor McGonagall's lips got thinned as she pressed them together. Her face was set in stern lines as she started, "Harry James Potter, did you ignore the Headmaster's beginning of year warnings before the feast? His announcements were very clear."

"Well, I know all the start of term announcements by heart," Harry said.

"Mr. Potter, you are just like your father. Apparently being raised by Albus could not change that about you. Professor Dumbledore announced that the third floor corridor is out of bounds for all students," huffed Professor McGonagall. She glared at Harry for a moment before snapping, "Five points from Gryffindor for not paying attention to the headmaster. Now, hurry back to Gryffindor Tower before curfew."

Harry, looking chastened, thanked Professor McGonagall for her time, wished her good night, and walked to the door.

"Oh, and Harry?" Harry looked back at his professor. "Do listen to the headmaster for now on," she said. Harry readily agreed and walked out.

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	9. First Day of Classes

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters and locations belong to the talented J.K. Rowling. No copyright infringement is intended.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Chapter 9: First Day of Classes

The first day of classes was an adventure for Harry. Breakfast in the Great Hall was filled with talk and laughter. Professor McGonagall walked around, giving everyone his or her class schedule. When Harry, Ron, and Hermione got theirs, they read through them quickly.

"Oh good," said Hermione. "We have all our classes together!"

"Do we HAVE to have Professor McGonagall first?" Ron asked.

"She's not that bad," Harry said. "You just have to be careful while you're around her. She can be very stern, but overall, she's very nice."

"Well, the fact that she lectured you last night, on the first night, shows that she doesn't care," Ron said.

Harry shook his head. "No, she does. She just doesn't show it very much. If she didn't care, she would have taken at least fifty points from Gryffindor and refused to answer my question."

"Whatever," mumbled Ron, diving into the mound of food on his plate, as though he had not eaten in days.

After breakfast, Harry, Ron, and Hermione made their way to Transfiguration. Ron and Hermione would have gotten lost if it weren't for Harry and his memory of the castle.

When everyone was seated, Professor McGonagall took role before launching into her beginning speech, "Transfiguration is a complex subject. If you misbehave in my class, you will be subject to both a loss of points and detention. This is your only warning."

She turned her desk into a pig and back before explaining that it would be a couple years before they attempted a transfiguration of that scale. That day they started with turning matchsticks into needles.

In Charms, Professor Flitwick greeted Harry warmly and said, "Mr. Potter, how nice it is to finally have you in my class."

"Thanks Professor," Harry said.

They started learning the Lumos charm. Hermione got it on her second try, a bright light standing out even in the well-lit classroom, while Harry and Ron struggled and were given extra homework to practice before the next class.

History of Magic was pretty boring. Professor Binns talked and talked, lulling all the students, except Hermione, into a sleepy state. Harry thought this would be the perfect time to draw a picture. There was no teacher to tell him to put it away. But as he started drawing a Snitch, Hermione hissed, "Harry, what do you think you're doing?"

"Nothing," Harry lied. Hermione glared at him and took his drawing.

"I will not let you draw during class," she snapped.

"Hey! Those are my notes," Harry quietly shot back. Hermione glared at him, then put his drawing in her bag.

"I will give it back to you after class," she said.

"Fine," Harry said, pulling out a new sheet of parchment but refusing to take notes. He spent the rest of the class period glaring at his desk.

At dinner, Hermione approached Professor McGonagall and gave her Harry's drawing. "And when did he do this?" she asked.

"History of Magic, Professor," Hermione replied.

Professor McGonagall sighed and said, "At least it was only History of Magic. You can give him back his drawing. However, tell him that if he does it in my class, I will be take points from Gryffindor."

"Yes Professor," said Hermione, taking the paper back and going to the Gryffindor table.

"You told! It wasn't even in her class! It shouldn't matter!" Harry yelled.

"I'm sorry," said Hermione, sitting down and handing Harry back his drawing. "But Professor McGonagall is our head of house. She needs to know what's going on."

"No she doesn't, it is not a problem in her class" Ron muttered, taking Harry's side.

"Anyway, Harry, she said that if you ever do it in her class, she will take points," Hermione continued.

Harry grimaced at Hermione's words, refusing to speak to her for the rest of the meal.

That night, Harry got into bed and thought about the ups and downs of his day. He was pleased to finally be a Hogwarts' student. Sure, Hermione told on him for drawing in class to keep himself awake, which seemed backwards because he figured she would be really mad if he fell asleep, but who understood girls anyway?

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	10. Flying

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters and places belong to the great J.K. Rowling. No copyright infringement is intended.

Note: Sorry for the delay! Totally my fault, the author sent me 2 chapters and I have about a million excuses but long story short, I was out of the country, got sucked into a reading a really good story, and totally lost track of time. Onwards!

Chapter 10: Flying

Harry's classes were great, except Potions. Professor Snape was the Potions Master and he was very nasty to Harry.

It was two weeks after term started and it was time for the first years' first flying lesson. Madam Hooch, the flying instructor, stood in front of the first years, a stern look much like Professor McGonagall's, on her face.

"Silence!" she barked, clapping her hands. "I don't have all day. I am Madam Hooch, and I will showing you how to fly on a broomstick."

She started by showing them how to mount their brooms, then how to kick off the ground. Neville Longbottom however, got hit in the nose by his broomstick.

"Hospital wing," Madam Hooch informed him. She turned sharply to the other students and announced, "If I see any brooms in the air while I'm gone, you'll be expelled before you can even say Quidditch." She walked off with Neville.

"Well?" Ron asked Harry and Hermione. "What now?"

"Over there!" said Hermione. "Isn't that Neville's remembral?"

"It is!" Ron exclaimed.

Suddenly, Draco Malfoy, one of the rudest Slytherins at Hogwarts, ran over to it and picked it up.

"Give that back!" Harry yelled.

"You'll have to catch me in order to get it back, Potter!" Malfoy yelled, jumping on his broom.

"No!" Hermione yelled. "You'll get in trouble!"

But too late, Malfoy was flying towards a tree, laughing loudly.

"I'm going after him," Harry said, mounting his broom.

"No!" Ron and Hermione yelled together.

But Harry had already taken off towards Malfoy. The wind whipped around him, the coolness of being in the air calming him a little. When he reached Malfoy, he snatched the remembral and raced back to the ground.

"HARRY POTTER!"

Harry spun around to see Professor McGonagall striding towards him, fury evident in her movements and facial features.

"Professor?" Harry asked meekly.

"Come with me," said Professor McGonagall, grabbing Harry by the arm and pulling him along beside her, leaving the rest of the students to chatter nervously.

"Do you have any idea how dangerous it is to fly when you don't know how?" Professor McGonagall yelled once they were in her office.

"But Professor, Madam Hooch taught me when I was younger," Harry reminded her. Her face grew even more stern than normal.

"Mr. Potter, you were using a training broomstick. You only went up a little bit under the watchful eyes of both Professor Dumbledore and Madam Hooch. This was different. There were no teachers present; you've never flown that high before, and never done a fifty feet dive. I am highly disappointed in you Mr. Potter. I would have thought you'd listen to Madam Hooch's instructions. I guess I was wrong."

Harry stood gaping at Professor McGonagall.

"But, but, you can't expel me!" he cried.

"Who said you're going to be expelled?" she asked sharply.

"Well, Madam Hooch sa..." Harry started but Professor McGonagall cut him off.

"Mr. Potter, I will only say this once, so pay attention. You are not expelled. The headmaster would never expel a student just because a student disobeyed a teacher. No Mr. Potter, I'm going to talk to Oliver Wood, the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team and see if you can join."

"But I can't!" Harry yelled. "I'm only in first year!"

She glared at him for a moment before saying, "If you have complaints about going on the Quidditch team, then go to your guardian. Good day to you Mr. Potter."

Harry walked out, still in shock that Professor McGonagall wanted him on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. He ran right into Ron and Hermione, who were waiting down the hall from Professor McGonagall's office. The three friends walked back to their common room.

Once there and settled in front of the roaring fire, Harry explained what Professor McGonagall told him.

"You're joking!" Ron exclaimed.

"I'm not," Harry said.

"I agree with her though," Hermione said. "You really should have stayed put, and let Madam Hooch deal with it."

"Yeah, but then he wouldn't have gotten on the team!" Ron exclaimed.

"Yeah," Harry said, nodding at Ron. Hermione sighed and mumbled, "Fine. Think what you want you two. I'm going to bed."

"Aren't you going to congratulate him?" Ron asked. Hermione glared at Ron.

"Congratulations on getting onto the team Harry," she said. "I'm sure you'll be great!"

"Thanks Hermione," Harry said brightly.

"Goodnight boys," huffed Hermione.

2


	11. The Third Floor

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters and locations belong to the marvelous J.K. Rowling. No copyright infringement is intended.

Chapter 11: The Third Floor

The next day, all the Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws were impressed with Harry for getting on the Quidditch team as a first year. Wood stopped him on the way to class, informing him that he would be the new Seeker. When Harry got into Potions that afternoon, Malfoy approached him, grinning.

"Hey Potter, let's duel tonight," he said. "Be in the trophy room at 11:00 PM or who knows what will happen to you!"

"But I don't want to duel with you!" Harry exclaimed. Even though he hated Malfoy, Professor Dumbledore taught him to never duel unless it was life or death situation or under the supervision of a teacher.

"Oh stop Potter. You have no choice unless you would like me to tell Professor McGonagall that you don't want to be on the Quidditch team anymore," Malfoy drawled. He laughed and hurried away.

"Harry, I just know he's trying to trick you," said Hermione.

"Look," said Harry. "I have a cloak that all of us can fit under. Then we won't be caught!"

Hermione sighed. "Fine, we'll all go. Now, pay attention to your potion before Professor Snape gives you detention."

At 10:45, Harry, Ron, and Hermione left Gryffindor Tower. They took the cloak off when they got to the trophy room. Malfoy was not there.

"Let's get out of here," Ron whispered.

As they were about to get the cloak back on, they heard Filch's voice say, "Caught you!"

They started to run. Filch was following them. They got to a locked door. Hermione unlocked the door and they hurried in, slamming the door in Filch's face. They were now gasping for breath. They weren't in a room but a corridor. A giant dog was standing on what looked like a box, and there were three heads. All three heads growled.

"Run!" Hermione yelled. They ran out of the corridor and Filch caught them.

Professor McGonagall was there too, her face mottled with anger. "Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, and Miss Granger!" she barked. "Don't you listen? The corridor is out of bounds!"

"What's going on here?" asked the silky voice of Professor Snape. He was the worst teacher to run into after curfew at Hogwarts. He glared at Harry before flicking his eyes towards Professor McGonagall as she started speaking.

"Severus, Potter, Mr. Weasley, and Miss Granger were in third floor corridor," said Professor McGonagall.

Professor Snape grinned evilly, "I'll fetch the Headmaster. You three will be sorry you survived the monster!" He hurried off, robes billowing in his wake. Filch looked almost gleeful at the thought of impending punishment.

Professor McGonagall gave Harry and the others sharp looks. "The Headmaster will handle your punishment," she said sternly.

"What happened here?" a calm voice said from behind her. Oh no, Harry thought. Now I'm really in trouble.

"Headmaster, Potter and his friends didn't listen to you at the start-of-term feast. He's just as much trouble as James," Snape sneered.

"Severus..." Dumbledore started, but Snape cut him off.

"Haven't you taught him anything before he came to Hogwarts? Haven't you gone through the rules with him? Told him what consequences there would be if he broke any of them?"

"That's quite enough, Severus!" Professor McGonagall said sharply. "Return to your office, we will deal with these students."

Snape gave Harry and his friends a final look of distaste before disappearing into the shadows. Filch looked disappointed as he gathered Mrs. Norris and shuffled off to continue his patrol.

"Mr. Potter, explain to the headmaster what you've done," said Professor McGonagall.

"It's already obvious," said Harry. He pointed to the door. "Isn't it?"

"Harry," said Dumbledore. "Did you use your invisibility cloak to get out of Gryffindor Tower?"

"Yes," Harry whispered.

"Minerva, you can go back to your office," said Dumbledore. "I'll take care of Harry, Ron, and Hermione." Professor McGonagall started to protest but Dumbledore's expression stopped her. She departed, leaving the students alone with the Headmaster.

"Did you three listen to my warnings at the feast?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes," Ron and Hermione said together.

"No," Harry said softly. "But please don't lecture me. Professor McGonagall already took care of that and told me what you said."

"We were trying to escape from Filch and didn't realize where we were," Ron said.

"What's the consequence, Professor?" Hermione asked.

Dumbledore looked thoughtful for a moment. "I'll let it go this time," he said slowly. "However, if you do this again, you will lose points and receive detention. Why are you out of bed after curfew?"

After sending looks at both Harry and Ron, Hermione answered, "Draco Malfoy challenged Harry to a duel in the trophy room but he didn't show up so we were headed back to the tower when Filch caught us."

Dumbledore looked thoughtful but didn't comment. "I will escort you three back to Gryffindor tower to be sure there are no more detours tonight." With the three students following, Professor Dumbledore led the way back to the tower.

2


	12. Halloween

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters and locations belong to the fabulous J.K. Rowling. No copyright infringement is intended.

Chapter 12: Halloween

Classes went forward as the weeks flew past. On Halloween, Malfoy teased Neville about how all his potions were nightmares. Professor Snape did not stop the bullying, adding in his own sharp comments. Neville fled as soon as class ended.

"Where do you reckon he went?" Ron asked Harry and Hermione.

"I don't know," answered Harry in a voice tinged with worry.

During the Halloween feast, the trio noted Neville's absence from the Gryffindor table. In the middle of dinner, Professor Quirrell, the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, burst through the doors of the Great Hall.

"Troll! In the dungeons!" he yelled. He fainted in front of the staff table right after his shout.

Dumbledore stood up and said, "Prefects, take everyone back to your houses, now! Staff, come with me to the dungeons!"

Harry, Ron, and Hermione ran out of the Great Hall with their fellow students. As they were on their way to Gryffindor Tower, Harry suddenly slid to a stop.

"We have to find Neville! He doesn't know about the troll."

They paused before changing direction, checking to be sure no one noticed. As they ran down a corridor, they heard a roar from a bathroom, followed by a squeak of a frightened student. They raced in to investigate, finding Neville cowering beneath an angry troll.

Ron used Wingardium Leviosa to take the troll's club. Ron directed it over the troll's head before releasing the charm. Harry and Hermione hurried to Neville, helping him to his feet. A moment later, the door swung off its hinges, revealing Professors McGonagall, Quirrell, and Snape.

"What happened here?" Professor McGonagall asked horrified.

"Nothing," the group said softly.

"Nothing? Nothing?" Professor McGonagall shrieked. "What in the name of Merlin..."

"Stop screeching Minerva, the Headmaster is on his way," snapped Professor Snape.

"Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, Mr. Longbottom, and Miss Granger, into the corridor, now!" screamed Professor McGonagall, pushing the four students out and away from the unconscious troll.

They tripped over each other in their haste to leave the bathroom. Professor McGonagall shut the bathroom door, closing Professors Snape and Quirrell inside with the troll.

Without even having to look, Harry could hear Dumbledore's soft footsteps on the flagstones.

"They knocked out the troll, risking their lives in the process!" Professor McGonagall yelled.

"You what?" Dumbledore asked, pulling Harry toward him. "Harry, don't you remember us talking about it's not good to risk your life? We talked about this before the term started!"

"I know," Harry said. "I'm sorry, Professor. I just wanted to help and Neville was in danger! There was not time to wait for a teacher!"

"Alright you four," said Professor McGonagall, straightening up, "It wasn't right for you three to do this, but at the same time, not many first years could take down a troll and live long enough to be lectured about it. Fifteen points each from Gryffindor, but ten each for sheer dumb luck!"

"Thanks, Professor!" Hermione said. As the other three nodded quietly.

"You're welcome, Miss Granger. Now, back to Gryffindor Tower, and no detours" Professor McGonagall said.

Dumbledore released Harry to join his friends. He stood watching as his ward and friends hurried away from Professor McGonagall.

"Shall we help Severus and Quirinus with the removal of the troll?"

Professor McGonagall nodded in resigned agreement.

2


	13. The First Quidditch Match

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters belong to J.K. Rowling and no copyright infringement is intended.

 **Chapter 13: The First Quidditch Match**

"Ready? Go!" Madam Hooch called.

It was the first Quidditch match of the year, Gryffindor vs. Slytherin. Harry kicked off the ground and rose into the air with his new racing broom, a recent gift from Professor McGonagall. As he started searching for the Snitch, his broom suddenly jerked, throwing him off balance. Now completely distracted from his snitch search, Harry could only focus on hanging onto his bucking broom.

"What's going on?" Ron asked Hermione.

Hermione looked over to where the teachers were seated. Professor McGonagall's face held an expression of shocked concern while Professor Snape's face displayed a look of intense concentration.

"It's Snape! I've got this. I'll be right back," she hissed as she headed towards the teachers' box.

Hermione whispered a spell that set his robes on fire. In the commotion that followed, she slipped back to her seat and watched with Ron as Harry regained control of his broom. Ron thumped her on the back in celebration as the match picked up in intensity.

Harry caught the Snitch at the end of a heart-stopping dive, ending the game. The crowd went wild and his teammates mobbed him in the air. When he got back to the ground, everyone rushed onto the pitch, trying to hug him at the same time. Harry finally pulled himself away to head to the changing rooms. Promising to meet up with his teammates later in the common room for the victory party, Harry met Ron and Hermione to go visit Hagrid before heading inside.

Harry knocked on Hagrid's door, greeting him cheerfully as the half-giant waved them into his sitting room.

"Do you want tea? I've just made a fresh batch of rock cakes too," murmured Hagrid as the friends settled onto chairs. They accepted tea but politely declined rock cakes. Ron looked ready to accept any offerings of food but shut his mouth upon catching sight of Harry's slight headshake. Harry knew from experience never to accept Hagrid's rock cakes if you wished to keep your teeth.

"Hermione, are you certain Professor Snape was cursing the broom?" Hagrid questioned. "He's a Hogwarts teacher! Its his job to protect the students."

"Professor Snape hates me!" Harry exclaimed.

"It had to be him, he was concentrating solely on Harry's broom," explained Hermione

Hagrid realized he would not be able to change the minds of the three stubborn students. "So what are you all up to besides schoolwork and quidditch?" Hagrid asked.

"We're trying to figure out what that three-headed dog is guarding," said Hermione.

"How do you know about Fluffy? And why were you in the forbidden corridor?" Hagrid asked.

"That thing has a name?" Ron asked.

"Well of course he does! He's mine!"

"What's the dog guarding then?" Harry asked.

"What that dog is guarding is strictly between Professor Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel," said Hagrid.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at each other, all thinking the same thing; their next stop was going to be the library. Harry wondered whether he could convince Albus to talk with him, during one of their weekly teas. The trio stood, preparing to head back to the castle. As they left Hagrid's hut, he called out to them from his doorstep.

"Oops. Shouldn't have said that," Hagrid mumbled. "Where are you three going?"

The trio heard him but did not turn around.

"Let's get back to the common room before everyone starts looking for us. We will go to the library after dinner," stated Hermione.

A wall of noise greeted them as the portrait swung open. Instantly everyone surrounded Harry, patting him on the back in congratulations. Oliver Wood and the Weasley twins swept Harry off his feet and into a crazy dance while shouting, "We Won! We Won! We Won!" over and over.

In the middle of the afternoon, Fred and George disappeared, returning less than an hour later having obtained butterbeer to share.

Ron looked confusedly at Harry, "How did the twins get butterbeer? It is only available in Hogsmeade and it is not a Hogsmeade weekend!"

Harry blinked then shrugged in response to Ron.

"Well, who cares right now? Its time for dinner then we must go to the library before curfew," interrupted Hermione, leading the way from the common room down to dinner.

2


	14. Tea With Dumbledore

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters and places belong to J.K. Rowling. No copyright infringement is intended.

 **Chapter 14: Tea With Dumbledore**

Immediately after dinner (Ron was still chewing as Hermione pulled him out of the great hall), the trio made their way to the library to research Nicolas Flamel.

Madam Pince, the librarian, looked sternly at them from behind her desk before asking, "Do you need help finding a specific book?"

"No thank you," Harry and Hermione replied.

The pair looked longingly at the restricted section but they did not have a pass from a teacher.

"Where shall we look first?" Hermione asked, scanning the bookshelves. "Oh! Here we go! Maybe these volumes containing old issues of the Daily Prophet will lead us somewhere."

Harry looked doubtfully at the numerous volumes before asking, "How old do you suppose Flamel is? If he knows Professor Dumbledore, perhaps we should try a book that shows great wizards of the present time."

After two hours of reading, they still haven't found anything about Nicolas Flamel, not even the slightest hint of how he might be associated with Professor Dumbledore.

"This is disappointing, are we done yet?" Ron said.

"We can come back tomorrow," Harry said.

"Or you can go to Professor Dumbledore and ask him about Nicolas Flamel," Hermione suggested. "After all, we can't let researching get in the way of out homework. If you get some hints, we can find information more efficiently."

"Yeah, I'll do that," Harry said, standing up and returning the book he had to the shelf. "I have tea with him tomorrow afternoon. I'll ask him then."

"Good," said Ron, "Can we go get more food now? Hermione glared at him as the three friends gathered the books to be placed on the return cart.

The next day, Harry made his way up to Dumbledore's office.

"Harry, my boy, come in!" Dumbledore's voice called.

Harry pushed the door open and moved to his normal seat by the fire.

"Good afternoon Harry," said Dumbledore. "Do you want some tea and biscuits?"

"Yes please," Harry said. With his mug of tea in one hand and a chocolate biscuit in the other, he looked at Albus nervously before asking, "Sir, who is Nicolas Flamel? I looked in the library but haven't found any mention of him in past Daily Prophet issues."

"Nicolas and I are great friends and colleagues. How did you hear of him?" Dumbledore asked interestedly, his blue eyes twinkling.

"Can you tell me about him?" Harry asked.

"Ah, but that would take all the fun out of it! I will give you a couple hints so you can get closer to your goal of finding a book about him. Nicolas is very old; you will have to read ancient tomes. Also, my chocolate frog card might be a good place to start."

"Thanks," Harry said as he finished his biscuits and tea.

Albus beamed at him but did not add any additional information. As Harry stood to leave, he thanked Albus for tea and promised to return the following week, if not sooner. Harry smiled, realizing that while Dumbledore had not actually said anything about Flamel, he did offer information Harry could share with Hermione and Ron. At least he now knew Nicolas Flamel was older than Dumbledore.

2


	15. The Mirror of Erised

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters and locations belong to the amazing J. K. Rowling. No copyright infringement is intended.

Thank you for all of the reviews and feedback! It is very much appreciated.

Italics indicate near quotes from the first book.

 **Chapter 15: The Mirror Of Erised**

Christmas came before they knew it. In the weeks since Harry's last tea with Albus, classes proceeded smoothly, with the exception of potions. Harry could not understand why Professor Snape made such sharp comments and corrections to him both inside and outside of class.

On the day term ended, Albus tried to convince Harry to come home for the holidays but Harry refused because both Ron and Hermione decided to stay at school. Harry got a box of chocolate frogs from Ron, Every Flavor Beans from Hermione, and more peppermint toads from Dumbledore.

Late one night, after Hermione and Ron went to bed, Harry was in the common room by the fire, eating chocolate frogs, when he suddenly got Dumbledore's card. He recalled what Albus had told him only a few weeks back about reading his chocolate frog card for hints about Nicolas Flamel. Harry peered closely at the writing on the card. Once he read through it three times, he jumped up and rushed to his dormitory. He grabbed his invisibility cloak, slipping it over himself as he ran out of the tower.

It was late at night, so the library was closed and empty. He slipped inside and quietly stepped towards the restricted section, staying alert for any sounds. He scanned the bookshelves for an ancient book. When he saw one, he pulled it off the shelf. The moment he opened it, the books started shrieking. Harry dropped the book in alarm, but it landed face down, continuing to howl. Knowing Filch would be drawn to the sound, Harry shot out of the library, nearly colliding with the cantankerous caretaker standing just outside the library door. Harry carefully sidled around the caretaker and headed down a corridor in the opposite direction. He paused briefly upon hearing Professor McGonagall's voice.

"Argus, I assure you, how could Mr. Potter be out of bed? Why are you so sure the out of bounds student is Mr. Potter? It's late, for Merlin's sake! But if you insist, I will get Albus."

Harry ran into a room to catch his breath. Professor McGonagall and Filch passed the room without pausing. Harry looked around the room, catching sight of a strangely familiar mirror in one corner. He recalled seeing the mirror when he was about five. Harry recalled everything that Dumbledore told him about The Mirror of Erised, including the stern warning to never go looking for it again. It used to be stored in an out-of-the-way dungeon room, so why was it here now?

"Harry?"

Harry spun around. Standing just inside the classroom door was Albus Dumbledore.

"Sorry," Harry said shakily. "Just er, I was er, trying to get away from er..."

"You will not find anything in the restricted section, Harry," said Dumbledore gently. "Ask Miss Granger if she has any old books."

"How did you know..."? Harry stopped. Had Dumbledore been following him?

"Ah, Mr. Filch and Professor McGonagall informed me that you were in the restricted section," said Dumbledore, eyes twinkling. "Harry, please go back to Gryffindor tower. _Remember, it does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live_."

"I didn't mean to find the mirror, sir," Harry said, putting his cloak back on.

"I know," Albus said gently. "Now go."

Harry walked back to Gryffindor Tower and woke Ron and Hermione.

"What is it, mate?" Ron asked, yawning.

"I need to tell you something," Harry said to them. "Look at this." He pulled out the chocolate frog card from his pocket. Hermione's face showed realization at once.

"I'll be right back!" she hissed, running back to the girls' dormitory. She came back with Hogwarts, A History in her hands. "Here it is!" she squealed. "Nicolas Flamel is the creator of the Sorcerer's Stone!"

"The what?" Ron asked.

Harry however, piped up, "Wait! I know what that is! I figured it out! Flamel most likely wanted Professor Dumbledore to guard the stone! That must be what the dog is guarding!"

Ron and Hermione looked shocked for a moment.

"But who would go after it?" Hermione asked. "And what is the Sorcerer's Stone?"

"It's a stone used to make the Elixir of Life, which makes you live for as long as you continue drinking it daily," Harry said.

"So," Ron said. "How did you know about the stone, but not Flamel?"

"Professor Dumbledore told me about the stone when I was younger, but not who created it," Harry said. "I wonder who is after it though. I mean, someone's got to be after it, or it wouldn't be here."

"Who do you think would be after it?" Hermione asked.

"Snape," muttered Ron, "He's the foulest teacher here and must have dark plans."

Hermione paused being saying, "I don't think any of the teachers would risk trying to steal it out from under Professor Dumbledore's nose."

"I agree with Ron, Snape seems extra mean this year, there must be some reason," said Harry, yawning, "Let's talk about this in the morning, I'm tired."

"We'll be researching," Hermione said. "But now we're one step closer to solving this mystery. Goodnight boys."

2


	16. Norbert And The Terrible Night

Disclaimer: All characters and locations still belong to J.K. Rowling. No copyright infringement is intended.

Note: Happy Holidays!

 **Chapter 16: Norbert And The Terrible Night**

On the day of the next Quidditch match, Dumbledore watched Harry nearly swallow the snitch, five minutes into the game. Instant game over, leaving all the students disappointed. In the midst of the lame celebrations with his teammates, Harry felt a hand on his shoulder, instantly knowing his guardian was smiling down at him.

"Good job," he whispered for Harry's ears only, "I'm glad you haven't been tempted to search out the mirror again, and focused on Quidditch. Excellent!"

Harry smiled.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione went to visit Hagrid right after the match.

When Hagrid opened the door, he seemed distracted and tried shooing them away.

"We know about the Sorcerer's Stone!" the trio exclaimed in unison.

"Oh, that? Well, fine! Come in!" Hagrid held the door open.

When they sat down, Ron noticed something in the fireplace. "Hagrid, is that a dragon's egg?" he asked.

"Er, yes," said Hagrid.

"But they're illegal!" Hermione snapped.

"I know," Hagrid mumbled. "But I won it in a game."

"Harry, you should go straight to Dumbledore," Hermione said.

"No Hermione," Harry said. "I don't want Hagrid to get into trouble."

"Yeah, thanks Harry," Hagrid murmured.

"Tell us when it hatches!" Ron said, getting up. The others followed.

"Right, you three really won't tell Professor Dumbledore?" Hagrid asked nervously.

"No," Harry said as they walked out the door.

"Honestly Harry," Hermione said. "You and Professor Dumbledore are pretty close. You know him more than we do. Are you certain that Hagrid would get in trouble if you told him?"

"I don't know, but I don't want to take any risks," Harry said, opening the front doors wide enough for them to slip inside.

Hermione looked rather annoyed by this comment, but didn't say anything.

Two days later, everyone was in the Great Hall eating breakfast when a post owl landed in front of Harry. Offering the owl some bacon, Harry noted the letter was from Hagrid. It simply read, "The egg is hatching."

"Come on, guys!" Harry whispered urgently. "Let's go! It's hatching!"

They scurried out of the hall and ran down to Hagrid's hut.

"I named him Norbert," Hagrid said.

"He's so cute!" Ron tried to pet the dragon, but ended up narrowly avoiding its teeth.

"Hagrid, you can't keep a dragon! It's going to grow!" Harry said.

"But... no one else would take care of him!" Hagrid said.

Harry suddenly had an idea. He turned to Ron. "Charlie!" he breathed.

"Er, are you mental?" Ron asked. "I'm Ron! Remember?"

"Right, but why don't we write a letter to Charlie and see if he can take Norbert?" Harry asked.

Ron and Hermione smiled. "What about it Hagrid?" Ron asked.

"Yeah, ok" Hagrid said.

The next day, they wrote to Charlie. Charlie replied quickly, asking very few questions and stating that he and his friends would be there in a few days, Saturday at midnight, to get Norbert from the tallest tower.

"That means we have to get Norbert to the top of the Astronomy tower!" Hermione exclaimed. "Harry, I'm going to Professor Dumbledore."

"No," Harry said, grabbing her arm as she tried to go to the staff table. "Listen to me Hermione, if we do that, Hagrid will get in trouble!"

Hermione spun around, anger clear in her face. "Fine," she snapped. "But if we get in trouble, it's not my fault!" She sat back down at the table.

On Saturday night, the trio went under the invisibility cloak; barely managing to keep themselves and the now Labrador-sized Norbert, concealed. Charlie and his friends loaded the dragon into a crate and departed.

In their haste to return to the common room, they forgot to pick up the invisibility cloak. Reaching the bottom, Harry realized it wasn't in his pocket at the same time they turned a corner, straight into Filch.

"Students out of bed! You are in trouble," snarled the grouchy caretaker, as he led them to Professor McGonagall's office, waking her.

Professor McGonagall looked progressively more furious the longer Filch talked. She knew both she and the Headmaster needed to speak with the students. She sent the worried students to bed after extracting a promise from them to meet her outside the Headmaster's office before breakfast in the morning. The students had no choice but to obey.

Sleep evaded all of them, allowing them to be waiting outside of the Headmaster's office for a full thirty minutes before Professor McGonagall joined them.

"Headmaster!" she called, knocking forcefully on his office door after snapping "Cockroach Cluster" at the stone gargoyle.

The door opened immediately with the words, "Come in, Professor McGonagall!" said from across the room.

Dumbledore knew something was wrong by her carriage and contorted face as she strode in and stopped in front of his desk. The three pale students lingered just inside the door.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Albus! Harry was out of bed, at the top of the Astronomy Tower, at midnight with his friends! They had a dragon!"

"What?" Dumbledore exclaimed, turning his gaze to Harry, "Why did you do this, Harry?"

"Well, a week ago, Hagrid's dragon egg hatched. We knew he could not keep a dragon so we asked Ron's brother Charlie to take the dragon, and he said that we had to take it to the tallest tower at midnight last night," Harry said.

Dumbledore looked unhappy. "Why didn't you tell me about this dragon?" he asked softly.

"Because, I did not want Hagrid to get in trouble. We thought it would be better to just help him get rid of the baby dragon before anyone found out," Harry said.

"I see," said Dumbledore. "But I would have dealt with it quietly. I would have had a staff member take the dragon out. You could have been bitten!"

"I'm sorry," Harry whispered, talking to his feet.

"Fifty points, each, from Gryffindor. You three will attend three weeks of detention, separately, with Mr. Filch, Hagrid, and myself; one week with each of us," said Professor McGonagall.

The trio looked shocked.

"We won't do it again," Ron stuttered.

"You may go," said Professor McGonagall.

Before they could fully exit the office, Harry forcefully clamped his hand to his forehead, directly over his scar. He was immediately the center of attention.

"No!" Harry exclaimed in pain.

Dumbledore was on his feet beside Harry in an instant, pulling his hands away to examine the underlying scar. "What's wrong child? He asked as his eyes searched Harry's for clues.

"Professor Quirrell... is Voldemort!" Harry shouted, startling everyone present.

"Be calm. If you are well Harry, please return to Gryffindor Tower with Ron and Hermione. We will discuss this later," Dumbledore said. Harry nodded.

"What does this mean?" Ron asked as they entered the common room.

"The pain in my scar? Means we might be wrong about Snape going after the stone."

3


	17. Secrets Revealed

Disclaimer: All characters and locations belong to J. K. Rowling. No copyright infringement is intended.

 **Chapter 17: Secrets Revealed**

The next morning after breakfast, Harry was called to Dumbledore's office.

"Harry, please sit down," Albus said. Harry sat down in his usual chair. Taking one look at Albus told him that this was not going to be a pleasant talk. "Harry, what happened last night with the dragon was rather disappointing, but that's not the reason why I called you up here," he said with a serious look on his face. "The reason I called you here is because of the unexpected scar pain that you had. What did you see?"

"I saw Quirrell standing in his office, and a high pitched voice said, "Make me proud, Quirrell." and then Quirrell just chuckled." Harry shivered. Dumbledore leaned forward, grasping Harry's hands in his.

"Anything else?" he whispered.

"No," Harry said. "That was it. What do you think this means?"

"It sounds like we have one of Lord Voldemort's followers as a professor here," said Dumbledore. "I will keep a close watch on him. Thank you for informing me of what you saw last night."

"Are you mad at me for not telling you about the dragon?" Harry asked, dreading the answer.

Dumbledore sighed deeply. "No Harry. Though I will admit, I was a little hurt that you felt you couldn't trust me to know about the dragon. As I said last night, I would have dealt with it quietly, and have a professor take the dragon out. But I think you learned a lesson last night. What did you learn?"

"I learned that I need to tell you when something's not right, or there's danger," Harry said shakily.

"Harry, my boy, you're not in trouble with me. Professor McGonagall already gave you detention, so I don't want to add onto that. Take a chocolate frog on your way out. I know you like them," Dumbledore said, beaming at Harry.

"Thanks," Harry said, taking a chocolate frog and leaving the room. He was on his way back to Gryffindor Tower when he had an idea. He dragged Ron and Hermione, who were working on homework, to Hagrid's hut.

"Hello," Hagrid said. "What's new with you?"

"We were wondering, who gave you the dragon's egg?" Harry asked.

"I don't know. He was wearing a hood," Hagrid said. "I just told him about the creatures I have and about how you just have to know an animal's quirks. Like how to soothe Fluffy with a bit of music to put him straight to sleep. Oops, shouldn't have said that."

But it was too late; the trio was already out the door.

"This is bad," Hermione said. "We must go to Professor Dumbledore!"

"Agreed, let's go," Harry said. But when they got into the entrance hall, Professor McGonagall was in there.

"What are you three doing inside on a day like this?" she asked sternly.

"We're going to see Professor Dumbledore," Harry said.

Professor McGonagall shook her head. "I'm afraid, Mr. Potter, that the headmaster was called to the Ministry for a meeting. He'll be back tomorrow morning."

"TOMORROW MORNING?" the trio shouted.

"But, we can't wait that long!" Hermione cried in frustration.

"I'm sure whatever it is you want to tell him, can be said to me," said Professor McGonagall.

"You won't believe us," Ron said.

"What do you mean?" she asked sharply.

"We know about the Sorcerer's Stone, and we think that someone's after it," Harry said.

Professor McGonagall dropped her books in alarm. "The S-S-Sorcerer's Stone?" she cried. "You're correct, Mr. Weasley, I don't believe you. Please follow me to my office."

The trio followed her to her office. "Alright," she said, sitting behind her desk. "So, you believe someone's after the stone?" The trio nodded. "I see," she said slowly. "I will contact the headmaster at once. I ask that you don't go near the third floor corridor."

"Yes Professor," the trio said.

They left her office, knowing they had to do something.

"Let her deal with it," Hermione said.

"No. We have to act. If Professor Dumbledore isn't here, then Quirrell will most likely go after the stone tonight," Harry firmly said.

"How do we know its Quirrell?" Ron asked.

"Because he was in my vision last night and Professor Dumbledore explained that he might be a follower of Voldemort."

Hermione looked shaky but nodded slowly in understanding and agreement to take action.

Late that night, the trio crept their way to the third floor corridor with the invisibility cloak. Hermione played a discarded she found on the floor, and Fluffy went to sleep. Dropping through the trapdoor, they got out of the carnivorous plant and went into a hallway filled with winged keys leading to a locked door. Harry used a broomstick to retrieve the correct door key. The door opened into a life-sized chess set, blocking their passage across the room. Ron looked excited at the prospect of a chess game.

"We have to play our way across," he said.

"No problem. Professor Dumbledore taught me a lot about chess when I was younger."

Ron got knocked out when they were playing, but they won. Harry and Hermione went through the door. A fire started behind them.

"Harry, drink this," Hermione said, holding out a small bottle with some kind of potion in it. "This will get you through the flames to the next room. I'm going to go get help. Good luck."

With that, she drank her bottle of potion, and walked back out the way they came. Harry took a deep breath and drank his. He immediately felt like ice. He hurried through the flames and into the next room. Quirrell turned as the door opened.

"Hello Mr. Potter," he said.

Harry noticed immediately that he wasn't stuttering. "Hello," he said through gritted teeth.

"I knew you'd come. Now, tell me how to get the stone," Quirrell said.

"Did Snape control my broom, or did you?"

"I did," Quirrell snapped. "Now where's that stone?"

Harry saw the Mirror of Erised in the corner of the room. He suddenly had an idea. He walked over to it, and looked into it. He saw a stone. Suddenly, his pocket felt heavy.

"Well?" Quirrell asked.

Harry knew that he had gotten the stone, but he had to lie to Quirrell. "I am shaking hands with Dumbledore," he said.

"Liar!" interjected a high-pitched, icy voice, "Let me talk to him."

Quirrell turned around and took off his turban. Voldemort was looking at Harry now. "You have the stone, don't you?" he hissed.

Suddenly, the door flew open, and Harry's least favorite teacher was standing there. Professor Snape strode into the room, and glared at Quirrell.

"How dare you go after the stone?" he hissed. "You filthy git, going after one of my students?"

"Snape," Voldemort hissed. "My loyal Death Eater!"

"No," Snape sneered. "You are wrong, my Lord. Potter, come here! We're leaving!"

Harry ran towards Snape, excited that they were leaving the room. Snape pointed his wand at Quirrell and words that Harry had never heard Snape say before came out of his mouth. "Avada Kedavra!" The jet of green light hit Quirrell, and Quirrell fell to the floor.

Snape grabbed Harry by the arm and pulled him out. By this time, Harry's scar was burning madly. Snape led him up to the headmaster's office, where Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore were. Professor McGonagall stood up, fury taking over her.

"HARRY JAMES POTTER!" she yelled. "Do you know how to listen? I clearly told you and your friends to stay away from the third floor corridor!"

"Enough, Minerva," Dumbledore said sternly. "Do you not notice that Harry's in a bad state right now? Let me take care of the lecture please."

Professor McGonagall bit her lip, and muttered, "Fine." She sat back down, still furious.

"What happened Severus?" Dumbledore asked.

"Quirrell is dead," Snape snarled. "The Dark Lord was sharing a body with him."

"I saved the stone from being in the wrong hands," Harry said.

Professor McGonagall's face turned from fury to shock. "You have the stone?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yes," Harry said.

"Hand it over please," Dumbledore said gently.

Harry walked over to his desk, removing the stone from his pocket to place in the headmaster's hand.

"What will you do with it, Headmaster?" Snape asked.

"Destroy it," Dumbledore said.

"But, then won't Flamel die?" Harry asked.

"Yes, he will. This stone is dangerous, it could bring Lord Voldemort back into a body and return him to power."

Professor McGonagall looked more shocked than before. "You-Know-Who would come back?" she asked.

"Yes," Dumbledore said, "Now Harry, does your scar still hurt?"

"Yes," Harry said.

"Then I would like you to stay here with me tonight," he said. "I would like to make sure that your scar stops hurting. Please go to your room and rest. We'll talk more in the morning."

Harry exited Dumbledore's office through the door that led to his guardian's private living quarters and went to his room. His room still looked the same as when he left it at the end of summer. He dropped onto his bed, asleep before his head hit the pillow.


	18. The Last Day of Term

Note: I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Years! This will be the last chapter for year one, but don't worry; chapter 19 will be about the summer. Please note that this chapter may be a little emotional at times.

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling is still the owner and no copyright infringement is intended.

 **Chapter 18: The Last Day Of Term**

Harry woke in response to Albus steadily shaking him. Harry sat up and mumbled a fuzzy, "Good morning."

"Good morning Harry," Albus said. "I would like to speak to you before you eat breakfast with your friends. Does your scar still hurt?"

"No," Harry said.

Albus beamed at him. "Good, good. Why don't we talk in the sitting room after you get dressed?" Harry nodded in agreement as Albus left the room.

Harry stumbled to the couch, completely dressed but definitely not fully awake. Albus set aside his newspaper, taking a moment to intently study Harry.

"Harry, we need to discuss what happened last night," he said sternly.

"I would have listened to Professor McGonagall but..." Harry started. Albus shook his head.

"Harry, just a moment. All this year, you've not been listening to your teachers very well. Whenever they told you not to go looking for danger..."

"I don't look for danger!"

"Enough Harry! I misspoke. You are correct; you don't go looking for danger. However, did I raise you to disobey a teacher?"

"No, but I had to save the school!"

"Indeed, but did you not hear her say that she was going to contact me at once? Or did you just ignore her?"

Harry sat speechless. Albus was right, he had ignored Professor McGonagall's words.

"I'm sorry."

"I see we're now on the same page. Harry, you need to think about what you are about to do before doing it. Never do anything like this again. I'm very disappointed you disobeyed a professor, especially your head of house."

Harry burst into tears and threw himself at Albus. He knew he was acting childish, but he felt awful. He flung his arms around Dumbledore, burying his face in Albus's shoulder, repeatedly apologizing. Albus hugged him until Harry's crying calmed to the occasion sniffle.

Albus whispered, "Harry, no matter what you do, I'll always love you. Now be happy. Today's the last day of term, you know. Go spend time with your friends before they leave. Once the feast ends, come back up here."

Harry reluctantly loosened his hold and headed to the Great Hall. When he got there, Ron and Hermione pulled him into a group hug.

"Hey mate, McGonagall said you were staying with Dumbledore last night," Ron said.

"HARRY, did you get in trouble?" Hermione asked worriedly.

"Not exactly. He lectured me about obeying my teachers, but other than that, no one's in trouble," Harry replied. Hermione looked relieved.

"Slytherin won the house cup," Ron spat.

"No! Not again!" Harry cried.

"What do you mean, not again?" Hermione asked.

"Gryffindor hasn't won the cup since I was 4!" Harry exclaimed.

"Fantastic," Ron muttered. "Just great."

Dumbledore stood up to speak the end of year announcements. This time, Harry listened to Dumbledore. In the end, he had given Gryffindor over 100 points for what happened the night before, and Slytherin lost the cup.

"Wow!" Hermione squealed. "You see Harry? We won it after all, though it doesn't seem fair to those students."

Ron looked confused, "Who cares? They're just snakes."

"Yeah," Harry said. But at this time, he was starting to get sad. His friends were leaving for the summer, and he wouldn't see them until September.

"Well mate, we gotta get to the station," Ron said. "Not coming this time?"

"Why would I?" Harry asked. "I would just come right back here. I only rode the first time with you two because I was at the Burrow."

Ron nodded in understanding, and Hermione stood up and gathered her books.

"Well," she said. "Goodbye Harry. We'll see you in a couple of months."

"Bye," Harry said, standing up and giving his friends a hug.

When they left, he made his way back to his room. He knew he had a lot of summer homework to do, but he just got out of classes for Merlin's sake! Why would he want to do it now? He stretched out on his bed and listened to the voices of Albus, Professor Snape, and Professor McGonagall as they discussed the events of the past year in the sitting room.

2


	19. Dobby and The Flying Car

Disclaimer: J. K. Rowling is still the author. No copyright infringement is intended.

 **Chapter 19: Dobby and The Flying Car**

Harry lounged on his bed, reading, as the July sun shone in his face. He looked up to a pop signaling the appearance of a house elf.

"Harry Potter sir!" the figure squeaked.

"Who are you? Why are you here?" Harry asked.

"I is Dobby, Harry Potter sir! Dobby the house-elf! Harry Potter must leave Hogwarts! It's not being safe this year!"

"I'm not leaving!" Harry said firmly. "And that's final. Who is your master?"

"Dobby can't say! Harry Potter hasn't been getting letters from his friends this summer. I'll give you back your letters once you promise to leave!"

"No," Harry said firmly. "I won't! And you had no right to intercept my mail."

Albus poked his head into Harry's room, "Are you alright Harry?" Spotting the elf, he added, "And why is there a Malfoy house elf here?"

Dobby look alarmed but gave his name and repeated what he just said to Harry.

Albus listened carefully before shaking his head. "Please return home Dobby, Harry will not be leaving my care or Hogwarts. I do not know how you know what is going to happen this year but I'm not you master so I can't force you to tell me."

Dobby yelped and banged his head against the wall. "I is leaving now! Harry Potter must leave Hogwarts! The elf popped away before either Albus or Harry could react.

"I don't like that house-elf," Harry said.

"Harry, you understand how house elves think. It is impossible to know how he is treated. You must give him a chance. Now, tomorrow I'm taking you to the Burrow, are you packed? You may leave all of your school things here, just pack a bag."

Harry took off for his room, hurriedly throwing clothes and a few books into a small duffle.

Harry loved spending time at the Burrow. They played Quidditch, swam in the pond, and generally spent as much time outside as possible. Harry already had his school supplies but went to Diagon Alley with the rest of the Weasley family to pick up theirs. They ran into the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, a smiley gentleman who pulled Harry next to him to pose for the cameras. Harry hated the attention but laughed it off later with the twins and Ron.

September 1st dawned clear and chaotic at the Burrow. Somehow they all made it into the Weasleys' flying car for the trip to Kings Cross Station in London. The family split up and moved through the barrier in groups of two or three, leaving Harry and Ron to cross last. The two boys jogged lightly towards the barrier, but instead of entering the platform, they crashed into a brick wall.

"Oof! Why can't we get through?"

Harry felt as confused as Ron sounded and could only shake his head while saying, "How are we going to get to Hogwarts?"

Ron paused before saying, "Dad's car! We'll fly to Hogwarts."

Harry looked worried but followed his friend out to the car. After a few struggles to get the vehicle moving they were off, though the invisibility feature failed before they were out of the city. Quickly spotting the train, Ron steered the car to follow but his landing definitely needed some work. The car crash-landed into the branches of the Whomping Willow, ejecting its passengers and their belongings. Ron fell onto his wand, snapping it nearly in half. The boys gathered their bags and moved away from the savage tree before setting themselves on the path up to the school.

Their progress halted at the sound of a silky voice from the shadows directly in front of them.

"Ah! The two missing Gryffindors," Snape said. "My office now!"

Harry and Ron followed him to his office.

"Do not move. I'm summoning both your head of house and the headmaster," Snape said. The next few minutes passed slowly as they waited for Professor Snape to return with Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore.

"What happened?" Professor Dumbledore asked.

"We couldn't get through the platform barrier so we took my dad's flying car," Ron explained.

"You did what? How dare you! Mr. Potter, why didn't you contact Professor Dumbledore? You know better than to launch into these foolish stunts," Professor McGonagall ranted.

"I doubt he does," sneered Professor Snape.

"Minerva, Severus, I'm taking Harry with me," said Professor Dumbledore.

Harry noted the anger in his guardian's features. Harry offered no protest and followed Dumbledore out of the office.

"How can I trust you if you continue risking your life?" Professor Dumbledore asked as they walked to his office.

"I-I don't know sir," Harry stuttered.

Dumbledore sighed deeply. "I'm taking you to your room in our quarters. I will have a school elf deliver a meal. You are not allowed to leave your room. I must return to the feast but we will talk later."

Harry wilted under the harsh gaze but nodded his compliance. The quarters were silent, no sounds of the Welcome Feast reaching his ears. An elf brought a light meal but Harry was not interested. He read for a bit before being startled awake by a weird harsh voice saying, "Blood. I smell blood."

Harry freaked out, colliding with Albus as he fled his room.

"Harry, what's wrong?" he asked.

"Didn't you hear that voice?"

"What voice?"

"There was this voice that said, I smell blood."

"I didn't hear it dear boy. Do let me know if you hear it again. Perhaps you are too tired for our talk tonight. We will talk before breakfast. Get some sleep, Harry."

The morning dawned, promising a day of rain. Harry dressed quickly, double-checking that he had everything he might need for classes. Since he did not know his schedule, he placed the folder containing all of his summer homework in as well.

Harry entered the living room and sat, fidgeting nervously, across from Albus, or was it Professor Dumbledore?

"So," said Professor Dumbledore, fixing Harry with his intense blue gaze. "First, why didn't you contact me yesterday, when you could not cross onto the platform?"

"I-I don't know, I didn't think and we didn't really give ourselves time to consider other options," Harry mumbled, noting it was definitely Professor Dumbledore.

"Ah, I suspected that to be the case," said Professor Dumbledore. "Acting first and considering the consequences later will nearly always lead you into trouble."

Harry nodded mutely as he stared at the floor, a muttered apology reaching Professor Dumbledore's ears.

"You will serve a month of detentions with Professor Lockhart. If you pull another dangerous stunt, the consequences will be most severe."

"What about Ron?" Harry asked.

"Mr. Weasley is serving a month's worth of detentions with Mr. Filch," said Professor Dumbledore. "Now, eat some toast, and review your schedule. You do not want to be late for your first class. On a side note, you are grounded and will be staying with me for two weeks except when attending meals in the Great Hall and your classes."

3


	20. Detention and the Mysterious Voice

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters and places belong to J.K. Rowling.

 **Chapter 20: Detention and the Mysterious Voice**

September passed in a blur of classes, studying, and worry for Harry. Ron completed his detentions with Filch, mostly consisting of polishing suits of armor and the trophies in the trophy room. Harry's first detention with Professor Lockhart was not until October 1st. The other teachers tried forcing Professor Lockhart to start sooner but the man kept insisting he had yet to receive sufficient fan mail. Harry entered Professor Lockhart's office to see Lockhart writing a lengthy letter on a piece of parchment.

"Professor Lockhart?" Harry asked.

"Oh! Harry, Harry, my dear boy! Do come in!" said Lockhart cheerfully.

Harry sat down across from Lockhart.

"I would like you to help me reply to my many adoring fans," Lockhart said, a wide smile on his face.

"Excuse me? I can't do that, it is your mail, not mine," Harry stated.

"Ah, but what else am I supposed to do? Answer it all myself?" Lockhart asked.

"Well, you would have been able to if you didn't wait for so long to answer them," Harry said angrily.

"I have your detention all planned out. Now, here's a stack of letters. Imagine that you're me. Write as if you're me," said Lockhart.

By this time, Harry was quite upset. Albus always told him never to open or respond to someone else's mail, especially after the time when Harry was little and tried to write a reply letter to a healer from St. Mungo's, who wrote to Albus. Albus caught him and explained it was violation of an individual's privacy to read a letter not addressed to them.

"Harry? Are you ready to start?" Lockhart asked.

"I-Yes of course," Harry said. He started writing basic thank you notes, attempting to include the sort of statements the professor liked spouting off in class.

Every weeknight for the whole of October, Harry sat with Professor Lockhart, writing meaningless words to countless people. On Halloween, as Harry wrote the last of his fan mail responses, he heard the same strangled voice from the beginning of September saying, "Blood...I smell blood. Time to kill... time to kill!"

"Did you hear that?" Harry abruptly asked Professor Lockhart.

"Did you say something?" Asked Professor Lockhart, looking up.

"Yes, there was a whispery voice saying awful things."

"I only heard you. Perhaps you dozed off for a moment. I see you are finished, time for bed, I think. This also concludes your month of detentions. A pity, I find managing fan mail to be vastly tiring, but of course you fully understand."

Harry sighed with relief, packed away his quill, and hastily exited the office. Harry slid to a halt when he heard the voice again, "Blood…Kill…"

Harry followed the voice, eventually running into Ron and Hermione who were headed back to Gryffindor tower from the feast.

"Harry look! Is that a cat?" Hermione squealed, pointing to something hanging on the wall.

Harry cautiously approached the cat, immediately recognizing Mrs. Norris. "Hermione, get Professor McGonagall. I'm getting Professor Dumbledore," Harry said, taking charge. Backing quickly away from the cat, he took off for the Headmaster's office as Hermione headed back to the Great Hall to fetch Professor McGonagall.

Ron stood shocked before calling out, "Ok then, I'll just stay here!"

"Yeah, great idea! You can keep watch!" Came Harry's shouted response, muffled by his ever-increasing distance.

More and more students gathered in the corridor with Ron, whispering frantically amongst themselves. Hermione returned with Professor McGonagall who just started examining Mrs. Norris when the Headmaster arrived on scene. Professor Dumbledore took one look at the situation before saying, "Heads of houses, please escort your students back to their common rooms."

The staff herded all the students away but Harry, Ron, and Hermione hung back. Professor Dumbledore gave them searching looks and said, "Go back to Gryffindor..."

"No!" Harry said. "We want to know what happened to Mrs. Norris."

Dumbledore sighed. "She seems to be petrified."

"Petrified?" Harry croaked.

Dumbledore nodded.

"But... it can't be!" Harry cried. "Not... not... the monster in the Chamber of Secrets!"

"Harry, we have no proof this has anything to do with the Chamber of Secrets," said Professor Dumbledore. "It is a possibility, but..."

"The voice!" Harry said. "I heard it again during and immediately after my detention with Professor Lockhart!"

Dumbledore looked thoughtful. "Harry, I may know what you are hearing but I want to be sure before I tell you," he said. "Now please return to Gryffindor Tower."

"What do you suppose the voice could be? I mean, hearing voices is not really a positive," Ron asked.

"Harry, what is the Chamber of Secrets? And what do you mean by the monster?" Hermione asked.

Harry's face fell. "I don't think I should tell you until we have a bit more information about Mrs. Norris," he said shakily. "Look, I don't know what I keep hearing, but if Professor Dumbledore is going to find out, then we'll know soon."

3


	21. Parseltongue

Disclaimer: Nothing has changed since the last chapter. J. K. Rowling's still the author and no copyright infringement is intended.

 **Chapter 21: Parseltongue**

The next few days passed in a flurry of gossip and speculation. Professor McGonagall questioned Harry, seeking any details he might have initially forgotten but Harry did not have any new information. Professor Sprout reported that the mandrakes were growing at a good rate and should be ready soon for addition to a restorative draught for Mrs. Norris.

Professor Lockhart created a dueling club for the students with a reluctant Professor Snape as his assistant. Professor Lockhart instructed the students to pair off before Professor Snape stepped in, preventing Harry from working with Hermione. Instead, the professor paired Harry with Draco Malfoy. Harry worried for Hermione's safety, seeing as Ron's wand was broken, and performed spells with unpredictable results. Suddenly, Harry had an idea.

"Professor Lockhart, may I please be excused for a moment? I promise I will be right back," he asked.

Snape glared at Harry for his interruption, but Lockhart smiled and said, "Of course Harry! We will begin when you return!"

Harry smiled at the professors before dashing away, with a startled Ron in tow.

"Where are we going, Harry?"

"Professor Dumbledore's wand is very powerful, I don't know why I didn't think of it before, and his wand will be able to repair yours."

Ten minutes later, Ron was in awe of his newly repaired wand as the two boys jogged back to the dueling club. Professor Dumbledore had eyed both of them shrewdly, making them promise not to share stories about how he fixed Ron's wand.

"Ten points from Gryffindor for running in the halls," came the snarling tone of Professor Snape's voice from the classroom door, "In now. No more delays."

Professor Lockhart taught them the incantation for the disarming charm and Professor Snape demonstrated the wand movement and cast the spell on Professor Lockhart. The professors started calling pairs to the stage for practice. Harry and Draco faced each other but before Harry could speak, Draco incanted a spell that made a snake appear out of thin air. The snake lunged towards a scared-looking Ron. Hermione shrieked, along with several other girls, as she attempted to drag Ron away from the advancing reptile. Hermione pointed her shaking wand at the creature at the same time Harry called out to it.

"Leave him alone, please do not hurt him!"

The room went deadly silent. The snake turned away from Ron, looking back at Harry. Professor Snape looked quite pale as he waved his wand, wordlessly vanishing the serpent.

"What was that about, Mr. Potter?" Professor Snape questioned in a harsh tone.

"What? I was trying to save my friend! So I asked the snake to stop, you heard me," Harry said.

Professor Snape eyed him for a moment before grabbing his arm and forcing him out the door.

"We are going to the Headmaster's office."

"Why? I didn't do anything wrong!" Harry exclaimed.

Once Harry was out the door and the door was shut behind them, Professor Snape released his grip and turned to face Harry.

"You did not do anything wrong, Mr. Potter. You did the right thing in an unexpected way but I'm not the right person to explain it to you," said Professor Snape in a gentle voice.

Harry was shocked. Professor Snape was not gentle, not even when he was a toddler.

"Severus, Harry, what brings you here?" Albus asked the moment they entered his office.

"Albus, do you remember our conversation last night?" Professor Snape asked.

Albus nodded.

"Well, it seems it's true. Mr. Potter is a Parselmouth."

"I'm a what?" Harry asked.

Albus turned to Harry. "Harry, Parseltongue is the language of snakes. A Parselmouth is a person capable to speaking to snakes. Salazar Slytherin and more recently, Lord Voldemort, were both famous speakers. I believe Lord Voldemort might have transferred his ability to speak onto you when he gave you your scar."

"WHAT?" Harry cried. "I-I can speak to snakes?"

"Yes," answered Severus and Albus simultaneously.

Albus added, "This proves my theory to be correct. Harry, the voice you keep hearing that no one else can hear, must be a snake."

2


	22. Another Attack

Note: Just a short chapter this time. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Once again, J. K. Rowling owns Harry Potter. No copyright infringement is intended.

 **Chapter 22: Another Attack**

"So, let me get this straight" Hermione said, her face pale. "You can speak to snakes and the headmaster thinks there's a gigantic snake in the school?"

Ron shivered.

"Yes, but we're going to find it," Harry said.

"How?" Ron said.

"Please tell us about the Chamber of Secrets," Hermione begged. "It could help us in our research."

"The Chamber of Secrets was opened fifty years ago. The monster attacked muggle-born students, its glare either petrified, or in the case of one student…"

"Killed?" Hermione gasped. Harry nodded.

"So who stopped the attacks and closed the chamber?" Ron asked.

"No one knows for sure," Harry said. "After Tom Riddle, also known today as Lord Voldemort, found Hagrid taking care of an acromantula, he ensured Hagrid was expelled, and the attacks stopped."

Ron and Hermione gasped.

"We have to solve this mystery," said Ron.

"Let's go to the library," said Hermione.

"I have Quidditch practice!" Harry exclaimed. "I'll join you at the library soon, Hermione."

"Same," Ron said.

Harry and Ron left the common room. Ron sat in the stands while Harry went over to Wood who beamed at him and said, "Ready?" Harry smiled, but before they could start playing, Professor McGonagall came running out.

"Quidditch practice is cancelled!" she called. "All students are to return to their common rooms."

Harry and Ron hurried back to Gryffindor Tower, worried about what happened. They sank into chairs near the fire, looking around for Hermione. Before they were able to ask anyone if they'd seen her, Professor McGonagall entered the room and called for attention.

"Students, I'm afraid there's been another attack," she said in a shaky voice.

"Who?" Everyone asked in unison.

Professor McGonagall looked at Harry and Ron before turning back to the others. "Hermione Granger," she said, her voice cracking.

Harry and Ron looked at each other in surprise.

"Are you sure, Professor?" Dean Thomas asked.

"Yes Mr. Thomas," Professor McGonagall said. "And there are now new rules. You are to be in your common rooms by 7:00 PM. A teacher will be taking you to all your classes and all extracurricular activities are suspended. I'm sorry, but this is for your own safety." She left the common room.

1


	23. Decisions

Disclaimer: Nothing has changed since the last chapter. No copyright infringement is intended.

Note: To the most recent guest reviewer, I'm not sure why there are numbers at the bottoms of the chapters; I assume it has something to do with my formatting settings in Word.

 **Chapter 23: Decisions**

The next few days passed in a haze of gloom. Professors McGonagall, Snape, and Mr. Filch, gave detentions to anyone who was out of their houses after 7:00 PM. Harry and Ron missed Hermione but luckily avoided detention. Madam Pomfrey shooed them out of the hospital wing each time they tried entering, insisting it would be pointless.

On a quiet weekend day while they were wandering the castle avoiding their homework, Harry and Ron saw water seeping out from under a bathroom door.

"Oh no," Harry moaned. "It's Moaning Myrtle's bathroom!"

"Who?" Ron asked.

"Moaning Myrtle's, she was the student who died fifty years ago. Her ghost haunts the bathroom. She moans and cries constantly which is why no one uses this bathroom."

Ron snorted, but they went into the bathroom why there was water everywhere. Harry looked around, spotting a sodden book in the corner. He picked it up and read the cover.

T M Riddle

Harry gasped, handing the book to Ron as he said, "Ron, we are going to Professor Dumbledore."

They hurried to the headmaster's office only to find he wasn't there. They searched the castle for him; finally going to Hagrid's hut as a last resort. Harry stopped suddenly, his face pale.

"Ron! It's the Minister of Magic! Let's go closer to listen to their conversation."

They crept closer, until they were in range to hear the words of the adults.

"You must Hagrid," said Fudge. "The Ministry has to act. If the attacks keep happening, we'll let you out."

Harry and Ron gasped. They knew where Hagrid was being taken.

"But Minister!" Hagrid said. "Not Azkaban!"

"I'm sorry Hagrid, there is no other option," Fudge said, as he motioned the two aurors behind him, forward.

Lucius Malfoy approached the group, his long hair and robes billowing behind.

"Good evening Headmaster, Minister," he drawled.

"Mr. Malfoy, to what do we owe this pleasure?" Dumbledore asked, the twinkle gone from his eyes.

"The school governors ruled to suspend you as headmaster due to your lack of action against the recent attacks."

Dumbledore's eyes blazed with a fire Harry had never seen before.

"Very well. However, I will not have truly left this school unless none are loyal to me," said Dumbledore firmly. "And I must have a word with my ward."

"We need to get back to the castle before they realize we're here!" Ron hissed.

Harry nodded in agreement. They raced back to the school as silently as possible. But as they slipped through the entrance doors, a voice behind them said,

"I know you two were listening. Harry, please come with me to my office. Mr. Weasley, please return to your common room."

Albus and Harry walked quickly through the halls. The moment the office door closed, Albus spoke.

"Harry, I'm giving you a choice. Would you like to come with me, where I will promise you protection from the Chamber of Secrets chaos, or would you like to stay here?"

Harry thought for a moment. This was a hard decision. He knew even though the monster only targeting muggleborns; he was in danger because the monster could surprise anyone. That swayed his decision.

"I will come with you," he said. "But what about my classes?"

Albus smiled slightly. "I will teach you. Now, we must leave quickly. Tell your friends goodbye, pack, and meet me in the entrance hall in twenty minutes."

Harry nodded and left the office.

He hurried to Gryffindor Tower and told his friends he was leaving.

"Why don't we get to go?" Dean asked.

"Because he's my guardian so it's his job to protect me."

He gave Ron a hug, then hurried to his dormitory to pack his books and some clothes into a duffle, shutting everything else into his trunk.

Twenty minutes later, he arrived in the Entrance Hall just as Albus was arriving also. "Ready Harry?"

"Yes," Harry said. He took Albus' hand as they walked out together, and apparated to the little house Albus owned and stayed in while away from Hogwarts. Harry sat in his room thinking about his decision. Yes, this was the right decision, even if it meant he had to leave his friends for a while. But no matter what, he was still going to keep in contact with Ron, and solve this mystery of the Chamber of Secrets.

2


	24. Closing The Chamber of Secrets

Note: This is a long chapter, so please enjoy! The chapter after this one will start 3rd year. Same disclaimer as the previous 23 chapters is still in effect.

 **Chapter 24: Closing The Chamber of Secrets**

Hedwig flew through the open window into the room where Albus and Harry held lessons. Harry, thankful for the break from a tedious transfiguration lesson, offered Hedwig an owl treat and quickly opened the letter from Ron.

Harry,

Hey mate, how are you? It's weird not having you here. Fred and George are not even joking around much. That's how gloomy it is here. I guess you're not missing much.

Just this morning, Ginny disappeared into the Chamber of Secrets! At least, that's what the newest wall message said. Harry, the Ministry is going to close the school tomorrow morning! Come back, we need you.

Ron

P.S. I can't find the diary from Riddle! I tucked it under my socks but everything was thrown about the other day as though someone was searching for it.

Albus, seeing Harry's horrified face asked, "What is it Harry?"

Harry mutely handed over the letter.

Albus read the letter before saying, "Harry, I'm going to the school to sort things and prevent closure. Please stay in this house, I'll be back soon."

"But..." Harry said.

"No Harry. You must stay here," said Albus.

Harry sighed. He wanted to help Ron find Ginny but Albus promised to check in within the next thirty minutes. Harry sat in a chair, thinking. Suddenly, he had an idea. The Floo Network! He could use the floo to get to Gryffindor Tower. He dashed to the fireplace, tossed the powder, and tumbled out of the common room fireplace.

"Harry! What are you doing here?" Ron asked.

"Ron, we need to find Ginny. Let's go ask Moaning Myrtle if she know anything about the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets," Harry said.

Using the invisibility cloak, Harry and Ron crept out of the tower and to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

"Harry," Myrtle said.

"Myrtle, how did you die?" Harry asked.

Myrtle's eyes filled up with tears as she wailed, "Oh, it was awful. A pair of giant snake eyes looked into mine, and I died!"

"Where were the eyes?" Harry asked.

Myrtle pointed to a pipe.

"I'm getting Professor Lockhart," Ron said. "Maybe he'll know what to do."

"Doubt it," Harry mumbled, once Ron left the room. He came back with Lockhart, who looked pleased to tell someone about something. But once he saw where they were, his smile faded.

"Why are we here?" he asked.

"Because we found the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets and seeing as you are the expert in defense against the dark arts, you are the perfect person to retrieve Ginny Weasley," explained Harry.

Lockhart looked on apprehensively as Harry walked over to the pipe and said, "Open" but it came out in English so he tried again, succeeding in parseltongue the second time.

The pipe opened to a slide leading down into darkness. Forcing Professor Lockhart in front, the three slid into the darkness. At the bottom, an eerie hissing voice stated, "Welcome to the Chamber of Secrets."

A snake appeared, attacking Professor Lockhart. He collapsed to the floor as he screamed and blood spurted from a wound before the snake vanished and Professor Lockhart stilled.

"Is he dead?" Ron asked.

"I think so," Harry said. "Come on. Let's go find Ginny."

They crept across the chamber. "Harry!" Ron called out, "Look!"

Harry looked around, spotting Ginny in the corner. He ran to her, and touched her shoulder. "Ginny, please wake up!"

Nothing happened. Ron's face was filled with worry and horror. Harry spotted Tom Riddle's diary, lying next to Ginny's hand.

"She won't wake," said a voice.

Harry and Ron spun around. A teenaged Tom Riddle stood watching them with an evil grin on his face.

"Tom Riddle," Harry spat.

"You and your friends shall die tonight Harry Potter."

-Meanwhile, in the Headmaster's office-

Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Sprout, and Flitwick gathered around the headmaster's desk.

"What is it Albus?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"Harry's gone," said Professor Dumbledore. "I went back to where we were staying, and he was gone. We must find him. I wish for all the heads of houses to ask their students if they've seen Harry today."

"Yes Headmaster," chimed the professors in one voice.

-Meanwhile, in the Chamber of Secrets-

"No! You will not kill us! Tell me what you did to Ginny," Harry demanded.

"She shall die too," said Riddle. "Because I am going to call for the basilisk. Then Lord Voldemort shall rise again!"

"Not while my guardian is the headmaster of this school," Harry yelled.

"Oh, but your poor guardian is no longer the headmaster. In fact, they are closing the school," said Riddle.

Fawkes appeared in a flash of fire carrying the Sorting Hat. Harry looked confusedly at Fawkes as he took the hat from the bird. A moment later, a sword fell from the hat.

"Merlin's beard!" Ron gasped. "That's Godric Gryffindor's sword!"

Fawkes looked between the snake and the sword. Harry understood, carefully but forcefully driving the sword through the giant serpent's head, killing it instantly. At the sight of blood and venom dripping off the sword, Riddle snarled in fury. Harry wasted no time in using the blade to stab the diary causing ink to join the puddles of blood, venom, and water on the stone floor. The Tom Riddle apparition vanished. After a moment, a small voice broke through the absolute silence.

"Harry? Ron?"

Harry and Ron spun around, seeing Ginny sitting up, tears overflowing from her eyes and streaming down her face. Ron moved towards her, but she stepped away.

"You shouldn't trust me," she said. "I opened the Chamber of Secrets. I wrote in Riddle's diary, and I was possessed. I couldn't stop him. I got so scared of the diary that I tried to get rid of it. It didn't work. Now they're going to expel me!" she wailed.

Ron was about to hug her, but Harry shook his head. "Ginny," he said quietly. "Listen to me. I know Professor Dumbledore more than you do. He hasn't ever expelled a student in all his time as headmaster. Trust me, I'm sure you won't be expelled."

"You're right Harry," said Ginny. "But I can't..." She gasped, letting out a sob. "Harry, I know what the monster is," she continued. "It's a basilisk that was petrifying the students."

"Well, it won't hurt anyone ever again, because I killed the basilisk. Come on Ginny, let's get you to Professor Dumbledore."

They grabbed onto Fawkes, who took them straight to Dumbledore's office. When they landed, they saw Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Dumbledore. Mrs. Weasley screeched and hugged Harry.

"You saved her!" she exclaimed. "You saved my daughter! How did you do it?"

"Explain Mr. Potter," said Professor McGonagall. Harry noted that both her and Dumbledore looked rather angry.

"I'm sorry," Harry said. "I know I shouldn't have left like I did. I just wanted to find Ginny."

Dumbledore looked ready to say something, but Mr. Weasley shook his head.

"Then," Harry continued. "I found the Chamber of Secrets."

"You did what?" Professor McGonagall's voice yelled, fury clear in her features.

Harry spent the next half hour explaining what had happened. By the end of his speech, Professor McGonagall looked ready to explode. Dumbledore looked like he was getting to that point, but calmly told the Weasleys to go see Madam Pomfrey. Ron went with them. Professor McGonagall went to tell the house-elves to retrieve the body of Professor Lockhart.

Once they left the room, Professor Dumbledore turned to Harry. "How dare you deliberately disobey me? I clearly told you to stay where you were. What part of that did you not understand? You went looking for danger."

Harry stood frozen. He had a point; he willingly ran into danger.

"I am disappointed and angry you show such little regard for both my instructions and your life. Why did you disobey me?"

Harry was speechless. "I-I," he swallowed, "I just wanted to help. I want to save people's lives."

"I'm sorry that you're mad," Harry said. "I guess I won't help anyone ever again."

"Harry, stop," said Albus. "Listen to me. You can always help others, but disobeying direct orders is not the way to go about it. Fifty points will be taken from Gryffindor for your actions. However, 100 points each to you and Mr. Weasley will be awarded to Gryffindor for your actions in saving the school from danger. Even though I'm angry right now, I am proud of you for the good of other ahead of your own interests."

He smiled slightly at Harry.

Harry nodded. "I'm sorry," he whispered, hugging Albus tightly. Albus hugged him back and they stayed that way for some time.

Finally, Harry headed to the Great Hall for the dinner. Hermione greeted him with a lengthy embrace. Lucius Malfoy approached out of nowhere, disgruntled with delivering both the orders to re0instate Albus Dumbledore as headmaster and personally escort Hagrid back to the school. In a moment of weakness, he confronted Harry, with Dobby in tow. At Harry's recognition of the elf, Mr. Malfoy glared nastily at his servant but Harry seized an opportunity to trick him into presenting the elf with clothes, thereby freeing the elf. Mr. Malfoy snarled in disgrace, fleeing Hogwarts in as dignified of a manner as he could muster.

4


	25. Escaped

Disclaimer: Hasn't changed.

 **Chapter 25: Escaped**

Harry spent the last two weeks of summer at the Burrow. They went to Diagon Alley for their school supplies and so Hermione could get a familiar. The cat, Crookshanks, seemed to take pleasure in tormenting Ron's rat Scabbers. As Mrs. Weasley cooked breakfast, Fred and George were pondering what, exactly, was ailing Scabbers.

"Why is Scabbers sick?" Ron asked them.

"Dunno," said Fred. "Maybe he's getting old."

"Or maybe he is bored" said George. "We can fix that! Hey Fred, do you remember what we did the first time we met Harry?"

"Yes I do," said Fred.

"Let's do that again!" said George with a big grin.

Harry overheard this conversation, and was prepared for the incoming water balloons. Mrs. Weasley glared at the twins, forbidding the filling of the balloons with water. The moment she stepped out of the room to wake Ginny, they hurriedly filled the balloons. Right as they were finished, Hermione walked into the room.

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked.

Fred and George spun around, lobbing the water balloons at her, without a second thought. Hermione looked dumbstruck. Harry and Ron burst into laughter as Mrs. Weasley returned with a drowsy Ginny in tow.

"Fred and George Weasley!" she yelled. "What did I tell you?" She took out her wand and waved it in Hermione's direction, drying her.

Ron gently poked Scabbers, "Didn't work," he said to Fred and George.

"Oh darn," said Fred. "We tried."

As they took their seats for breakfast, Percy strode into the room with a copy of the Daily Prophet.

"Good Morning Mum."

"Good morning Percy," said Mrs. Weasley.

"Look at this article," said Percy. He handed it to Mrs. Weasley, who read it out loud.

 _ **PRISONER ESCAPED AZKABAN**_

 _By Rita Skeeter_

 _Late last night, Sirius Black, the evil mass murderer of 13 muggles, escaped Azkaban prison. It is unknown how he managed this feat though many suspect dark magic. The dementors are in an uproar and the aurors and Minister of Magic are working tirelessly to smooth relations. The muggle Prime Minister was alerted to the threat posed by this escaped prisoner._

 _The Ministry recommends no one approach this man and any sightings should be reported directly to the Ministry._

Mrs. Weasley gasped. "What is it?" Harry asked.

"Nothing dear," said Mrs. Weasley.

Harry shook his head. "Don't lie to me Mrs. Weasley," he said.

Mrs. Weasley shook her head quickly. "Don't worry about it dear," she said kindly. "Finish your breakfasts, all of you, then its outside with you for the rest of the day."

The moment Mr. Weasley got home from work, Harry asked for a private word.

"Mr. Weasley, who is Sirius Black?" Harry asked.

Mr. Weasley's face paled. "You saw the paper?" he asked.

"Mrs. Weasley read it aloud at breakfast but kept telling me not to worry and just trust the Ministry."

Mr. Weasley swallowed loudly before starting, "Sirius Black killed 13 Muggles with one curse the day after your parents died. He was a friend of your parents'. Another of their friends, a man named Peter Pettigrew, got in the way of the curse. He was obliterated. All they found was a finger. Black went to Azkaban and was a high security prisoner up last night when he escaped. Rumor is he's after you."

"Me?"

"You must stick close to Albus this year and promise me you will not going looking for Black."

"I promise."

"Good, good," said Mr. Weasley, clapping his hand on Harry's shoulder. "Don't tell Molly…"

Don't tell me what?" a tight voice asked. Mrs. Weasley was standing in the doorway, hands on her hips.

"Nothing dear," said Mr. Weasley quickly.

Mr. Weasley wilted under his wife's fierce glare, "I told him about Sirius Black. I know you think he's too young…"

A slight shooing motion from Mr. Weasley signaled to Harry it was time for him to retreat. As he closed the door on the sitting room, he heard shouts erupt from within. He found Ron out in the back garden and the pair decided to go flying before dinner.

The next day, Harry got a letter from Albus during breakfast. He opened the letter and read it.

 _Dear Harry,_

 _I'm sure that you've heard about Sirius Black in the Daily Prophet. I'm sorry to say the Minister and I had a conversation about new security measures for Hogwarts, The Minister demanded I allow dementors to guard the perimeter, just outside the wards. As you know, I dislike dementors and fear their effects on my school and its inhabitants._

 _I wanted to forewarn you about the presence of the dementors before you returned for fall term. Now, enjoy the final days of summer holidays and please warn your friends._

 _I'll see you soon my boy, stay out of trouble and mind Mr. and Mrs. Weasley._

 _Albus_

Harry looked up from the letter, looking alarmed.

"What is it Harry?" Ron asked.

"The Ministry assigned dementors to guard the school this year because of Sirius Black's escape."

Mrs. Weasley looked startled by this blunt announcement before summing up the worried looks being shared by the rest of the family, "Professor Dumbledore was not given a choice, was he?"

"No," replied Harry, "Minister Fudge ordered he accept the extra security."

Seeming to appear from nowhere, Crookshanks pounced onto Ron's chest and snagged the rat quivering in his pocket, before dashing from the house. Ron tore after the cat, yelling angrily the whole time.

"All we can do now is wait and let the Ministry do its job," sniffed Percy, returning his attention to his rapidly cooling porridge.

As Harry worked his way through his own porridge, sneakily adding more treacle and cream as he munched, he could hear faint shouts of, "Let him go, you ugly cat!"

Hermione abandoned her nearly empty bowl and followed Ron's path out of the kitchen, yelling, "Ron! What are you doing? Don't hurt Crookshanks!"

3


	26. The Beginning of Third Year

Disclaimer: Still don't own Harry Potter.

 **Chapter 26: The Beginning of Third Year**

On September 1st, Harry went with the Weasley family to King's Cross Station to catch the Hogwarts' Express. Mr. Weasley reminded Harry not to go after Black, and Mrs. Weasley gave Harry a motherly hug. Once everyone was settled on the train, Hermione launched into an excited monologue about all the new classes she would be taking.

"How will you take all those classes?" Ron asked.

"I have my ways," said Hermione.

"But many of them are at the same times!" said Ron.

"I know but it will work out," said Hermione, with a touch of impatience in her tone.

"The only way anyone can be in two places at once is if they have a time-turner," Harry said, joining the conversation.

Hermione looked worried.

"What is it Hermione?" Ron asked.

"Professor McGonagall told me not to tell," said Hermione in a small voice.

"Wait, so you do have a time-turner?" Harry asked.

"I will," said Hermione. "Professor McGonagall will give it to me tonight."

"That's just crazy," said Ron.

"Hermione, there are all sorts of rules when you are dealing with time," said Harry.

"I'm sure Professor McGonagall will tell me all about any restrictions," snapped Hermione.

"Sorry," Harry mumbled. The train jerking to a stop and lights flickering out broke the uncomfortable silence.

"What's happening?" Ron asked.

The compartment door opened and a dementor slid into the compartment. The temperature instantly dropped as the creature paused, seeming to stare at the friends. Harry knew there was a spell the chase it away but it was very advanced. Far away he heard what sounded like a scream but all he could focus on were the coldness around him and awful memories threatening to swallow him.

"Harry!" a familiar voice called.

Harry's eyes snapped open causing him to startle at Hermione appearing so close.

"Are you alright Harry?" she asked worriedly.

"I'm fine," Harry said. He looked up to see a man standing there, who looked back at him. "Who are you?" Harry asked.

"Professor Remus Lupin. I will be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts this year."

"Oh," Harry said. He slowly stood to shake the professor's offered hand.

"I was a friend of your parents," continued Professor Lupin. "I knew you when you were a baby. Anyway, eat some chocolate. It'll make you feel better."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione ate the chocolate, immediately feeling warmth spread through their bodies.

At Hogwarts, Professor McGonagall stopped Harry and Hermione on their way into the Great Hall.

"Mr. Potter, the headmaster would like to see you, he is in his office" she said. "Miss Granger, please follow me."

Harry made his way to Albus' office, wondering why in the world he wanted to see him already.

"Ah, Harry! Please come in!" Albus said cheerfully.

Harry sat down. Albus gave him a searching look for a moment before saying, "Are you alright Harry? I heard what happened on the train."

"I don't know the spell that you mentioned about how to get rid of dementors," Harry said.

"It's a very complicated spell. Very few people can do it. Now, seeing as this was your first time being around a real dementor, what was your reaction?"

"I heard a scream," Harry said. "Everything was so cold, and I felt like I was drowning in water."

Albus frowned slightly. "Oh dear. This isn't good," he murmured.

"What isn't good?" Harry asked.

Albus smiled at him. "How was your time with the Weasleys?" he asked.

"Albus, just get to the point!" Harry said. "What isn't good?"

Albus sighed. "You do not like getting off the subject, do you? Well, it seems you have a reaction to dementors worse than others, likely because you have horrors in your past."

Harry was silent for a moment, trying to grasp the meaning of Albus' statement. "May I go to Hogsmeade this year?" he asked. "You never signed the form."

Albus shook his head. "No Harry. I'm truly sorry, but I won't be signing it this year. You see, with Sirius Black on the loose, I don't want you wandering around Hogsmeade."

"But Albus, I won't go looking for Black!" Harry exclaimed. "Please! Let me go!"

"I'm sorry Harry, but no," Albus said sadly. "My decision is final. When they've caught Black, then I will sign it."

"Fine," Harry said through gritted teeth. "Have a good night." He jumped up from his chair and bolted from the room, slamming the door in the process. He hurried to Gryffindor Tower, and went straight to bed, skipping the Welcome Feast.

As he lay in bed, he thought, 'How could Albus do this to me?'

2


	27. Dementors On The Quidditch Field

Disclaimer: Still don't own Harry Potter.

 **Chapter 27: Dementors On The Quidditch Field**

The next morning, Harry woke up and stretched. At first he couldn't remember what happened the night before, but then he cringed as his actions reminded him of a much younger version of himself. For a moment, he was lost is memory.

 _Flashback_

 _Seven-year-old Harry stood next to Albus, waiting for Albus and Minerva to end their discussion. Harry pulled on Albus' robes, a look of impatience in his face._

" _I shall start on the letters for the first years," said Minerva. "Albus, you better take your ward to Hogsmeade before he bursts."_

 _Harry jumped up and down. "Yes! Yes! Come on Albus!" he shrieked._

" _Alright, alright," said Albus, putting an arm around Harry. "Let's go."_

 _Harry convinced Albus to buy him more Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans from Honeydukes. Albus even tried one, finding it was earwax-flavored. Harry giggled for at least twenty minutes at the look on Albus' face._

 _They went to the Three Broomsticks, where Albus bought Harry a small butterbeer. Harry begged for a larger size but stopped once Albus firmly said no. Harry pouted for a moment, but was happy again once Albus took him into the joke store and let him pick out a biting teacup._

 _End of flashback_

Jolted back to reality by the sounds of his roommates getting ready, Harry knew Albus only wanted to protect him. Harry loved his past trips to the village and figured going with friends would be even more fun yet he knew he had to respect Albus' decision. This meant apologizing between breakfast and his first class.

After nearly inhaling a quick breakfast of eggs and toast, Harry grabbed his schedule from a grim-looking Professor McGonagall, quickly noting Charms was first up, before racing out of the hall at top speed to catch Albus before he got all the way back to his office. Completely out of breath, Harry apologized profusely to Albus who smiled and hugged him before sending him off to Charms. Harry slid into an empty seat between Ron and Hermione right as the bell rang signaling the start of the lesson. Hermione gave him a searching look before focusing all of her attention on Professor Flitwick.

The next few weeks flew by, bringing classes and homework into the busy days. Quidditch saw Wood pushing the team harder than before. He was determined to win the cup, as it was his last chance to do so. The first Quidditch match happened on the second Saturday in October. The morning dawned cloudy with a definite bite in the air, threatening rain.

As Harry soared through the air, looking for the snitch, he heard Ron's voice yelling from the stands, "Harry! Look out!"

Harry looked around and down, and was horrified to see about ten gathered dementors on the pitch. Harry felt the icy coldness begin to overwhelm him as the memories took over.

"Not Harry! Not Harry! Kill me instead" Harry knew at once what that voice was. It was his mother's voice as she pled for his life.

The sensation of falling lengthened as he felt himself slowing down before landing on something soft. He looked up to see Professors McGonagall and Snape staring down at him, mouths moving but he could not immediately distinguish words. In a rush, the noise of the stadium broke through his shock. He looked around, seeing Albus firing off the spell to drive the dementors away. He looked angrier than Harry had ever seen him.

"Mr. Potter?" Professor McGonagall asked.

Harry looked at her, waiting for her to go on.

"Are you alright? Perhaps I should fetch Madame Pomfrey," she questioned worriedly.

"I'm fine," Harry said.

"Are you sure you don't feel pain anywhere? Weakness?" Professor Snape asked, a knowing look in his eyes.

"I feel a little cold and run down," Harry confessed.

A warm hand landed on his shoulder. Harry looked up to see Albus looking at him with concern.

"Let's get you inside with some hot chocolate to warm you up."

Professor Snape reached down to help Harry to his feet, gently guiding the boy inside to the headmaster's quarters. Once Harry was sitting on the sofa in front of the fire, wrapped in a blanket and cradling his hot chocolate, Professor Snape turned to a bemused Albus.

"Why did the dementors enter the grounds and congregate on the pitch?" Snape asked.

"I suspect they were drawn to the high level of emotional activity and they could not resist the temptation," Albus said.

"What happened to the match? We're going to lose if I don't return!" Harry said all this as he struggled to shed the blanket and find his feet.

A callused hand gently nudged him back into a seated position, while the accompanying deep voice caught his attention, slowing his uncoordinated movements.

"Stay still Harry. The other seeker caught the snitch as you fell, ending the match. Madam Hooch stated a re-match is possible, dependent on an agreement between the house teams. You will take it easy for the rest of the weekend and we will figure out how to help you with your dementor problem."

Albus watched the exchange with interest but chose not to comment. Instead he offered more information.

"I will be reporting this incident to the Ministry. Professor McGonagall is aware that you are here and assured both your teammates and housemates that you are recovering well. The decision over a whether a re-match will happen must wait until Monday."

With a last look at Harry, Professor Snape left the room. Harry, to cover his confusion over the kindness of his normally snarky professor, finished his hot chocolate in silence.

"Albus?" He said after several moments.

"Yes my boy?" said Albus, looking up from his letter writing to focus on the young boy.

"Do you think I can learn the spell you used to send the dementors away? I don't want situations like today to happen again and I hear my mum pleading for her life and mine whenever they are near."

Albus looked quite alarmed at Harry's words but quickly recovered by responding.

"The spell is quite advanced but I will speak with Professor Lupin this evening about teaching you. I'm afraid I'm far too busy to teach you at this time. If you are finished, please return to Gryffindor."

3


	28. The Patronus Charm

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and his world belong to J.K. Rowling.

 **Chapter 28: The Patronus Charm**

Monday came and the teams agreed to a re-match, to be played Tuesday after classes. After an intense two-hour game, Harry caught the snitch meaning they were that much closer to wining the cup.

Classes that week started out normal. Professor Snape was back to what Harry considered to be his normal self, illustrated perfectly by his reaction of a glare and disgusted snort in response to Harry's attempted thank you for his help over the weekend.

After Defense Against The Dark Arts on Wednesday, Professor Lupin stopped Harry on his way out the door.

"Mr. Potter, please wait a moment," he said.

"Yes sir," Harry said. "What is it?"

"Professor Dumbledore asked me to teach you the Patronus Charm," Professor Lupin explained.

"The what?" Harry asked.

"The Patronus Charm. He said that you wanted to learn it," Lupin said gently.

Harry brightened at once. "Oh! That spell to drive away dementors? Yes!" he exclaimed, getting excited.

"Good, good. Do you remember when we talked about Boggarts earlier this year? We will use one to practice the Patronus Charm on," explained Professor Lupin. "How does Thursday at 8 PM sound?"

"Excellent sir," Harry said.

"Wonderful. Meet me here tomorrow evening then. Take this pass to Professor McGonagall to explain why you are late for Transfiguration."

Thursday evening found Harry and Professor Lupin standing across from each other. Professor Lupin illustrated the proper wand movement and explained the proper pronunciation of the incantation. Harry looked worried but ready to try it on the Boggart.

"Remember Harry, you won't get it the first time," Lupin reminded him. "Are you ready?"

Harry nodded. A dementor came out, the room growing cold. Harry felt the coldness, and quickly tried to speak the incantation, only getting the beginning out before collapsing to the floor, panting heavily. Professor Lupin handed him a piece of a chocolate bar before instructing him to try again. After one hour, Harry could at least get the full incantation out but had yet to experience the protective effects of a correctly done spell. A knock at the door interrupted their session. Professor Lupin tossed Harry a chocolate frog as he opening the classroom door to admit Professor McGonagall. The stern professor looked quite angry.

"I apologize for interrupting but this cannot wait. Mr. Potter, did you order a Firebolt?"

Harry stared at her, shock clearly on his face before quickly shaking his head no as he tried to swallow his mouthful of chocolate.

"Mr. Weasley discovered a Firebolt sitting on your bed. It was wrapped but contained no indication of where it came from."

"I don't know who would send me one," Harry said. "Do you think it was Albus, and he just wanted to surprise me?"

"No. I already spoke to Professor Dumbledore. We suspect Sirius Black sent it. The other professors and I will check the broom for jinxes and curses. If it is clean, it will be returned to you. Do try to be in before curfew."

With a last critical look at Harry, Professor McGonagall swept from the room, gently shutting the door behind her.

Harry was shocked. The professors were going to destroy his new broom. He understood why but that did not make him less angry.

"I think that is enough for tonight. Next week, same time, now hurry back to the tower, do not dawdle."

Harry made his way back to Gryffindor Tower, finding Ron and Hermione settled in front of the fire in the common room.

"Harry!" Hermione cried. "How was your lesson?"

"Did you hear about your new broom?" Ron asked.

"My lesson was good, and yes, I heard about it," Harry said, answering both questions. "Let's just hope that I can have it back and without any damage."

2


	29. Hogsmeade and Lectures

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and his world belong to J. K. Rowling.

 **Chapter 29: Hogsmeade and Lectures**

December came quickly, bringing mounds of fresh snow. As the second Saturday of December approached, Ron and Hermione, along with the rest of the school, started talking about the upcoming Hogsmeade weekend.

"I can't wait!" said Ron. "We're going to get butterbeer, candy..."

"Oh yes," said Hermione brightly. "Oh I hope there's a bookstore in Hogsmeade."

"Doubt it," Ron muttered.

Harry sat, listening to their conversation, trying not to be upset about missing all the fun.

"Harry, aren't you excited?" Ron asked

"I can't go," Harry said sadly. "Albus refused to sign the form until Sirius Black is captured."

"But what if they never catch him?" Ron asked.

"Then I'll never get to go with you guys," Harry said. "I can't disobey Albus."

"Come on mate, you can go!" Ron said. "Just ask Fred and George. I'm sure they'll have an idea on how to get you there."

Harry didn't want to disobey Albus, but he also wanted to go to Hogsmeade. He found Fred and George laughing about a prank they played on the Slytherins.

"Fred? George? I want to go to Hogsmeade, but Professor Dumbledore won't sign the form," Harry said.

"No problem!" said Fred. "We'll give you the Marauder's Map!"

"The what?" Harry asked.

"The Marauder's Map!" George exclaimed. "You can see where everyone is at Hogwarts and Hogsmeade, and find more passageways that you don't even know!"

"Thanks," Harry said. "Where did you get it?"

"Filch's office," Fred and George said together.

They pulled out the map, and showed him how to use it. They showed him a passageway to the cellar of Honeydukes.

"See you in Hogsmeade!" shouted the twins in union.

Harry went back to Ron and Hermione, and knowing that Hermione wouldn't approve, didn't say anything about the map.

On Saturday after lunch, Harry whispered to Ron that he would be in Hogsmeade, and slipped through the passage to Honeydukes. When he got there, he found Ron and Hermione looking at different candies.

"Hi guys," he said.

They spun around, and Hermione at once looked enraged.

"Harry James Potter! You shouldn't be here!" she yelled. "You didn't get the form signed!"

Harry shrugged and turned to Ron. "So, should we go to The Three Broomsticks?" he asked.

Ron nodded and the three of them went. But the moment they opened the door to go in, they were met with an outraged Professor McGonagall.

She raised her eyebrows, and said, "I'd hoped Mr. Thomas was mistaken when he mentioned seeing Mr. Potter in Honeydukes."

She looked at Harry, anger clear in her features. "Follow me Mr. Potter."

Ron and Hermione looked worried as Harry followed Professor McGonagall back to the castle. She led him to her office, and gestured towards a chair for him to sit.

"Mr. Potter, I'm disappointed in you," she said. "You disobeyed the headmaster and went to Hogsmeade. Did he tell you why he forbade you to go?"

"Yes," Harry said. "He said it was because of Sirius Black."

"And still, you disobeyed him," said Professor McGonagall angrily. "This is very unacceptable Mr. Potter. I cannot believe you would risk your life like this."

"I have before," Harry said

"And it has to stop," she snapped. "You must obey your own guardian! He loves you and wants to protect you! Yet none of that seems to matter to you. Do you value your life and safety?"

By now, she was yelling, and Harry was a bit scared. He had never seen her this angry before. He sat there silent, until the door opened and Professor Dumbledore came in. He sat down next to Harry, and gazed at him with a guarded expression.

"Mr. Potter, do you understand me?" she asked sternly.

"Yes Professor," Harry said meekly.

"Good," she said, turning to Professor Dumbledore. "Headmaster, is there anything you would like to add?"

"Harry, I understand you don't like the rules and restrictions but you have to get used to them. You know I only set rules to protect you, because I care about you. Your life is quite valuable and to continue ignoring me makes me quite angry. Why do you think that is?"

"Because you're just trying to help me, and by ignoring the rules, my actions are saying that I don't care about you or what you think. I guess I'm a bad person," Harry said quietly.

"No Harry, you are not a bad person, you merely make poor choices. In that way, you are very much like your father, always acting selfishly before considering all of the possible consequences," said Professor Dumbledore. "You are a teenager now, no more childish tantrums."

"I know," Harry said, trying not to cry. "I'll try to be better."

Albus seemed to know Harry was on the verge of tears, and put an arm around him.

"Take deep breaths Harry, it will be ok. Let your professors and I help you. Let your friends help you, and start obeying rules. If Black had found you in Hogsmeade, you could be dead."

Harry sighed and apologized. Professor McGonagall took 30 points and assigned him a detention with Professor Snape. He went back to Gryffindor Tower and found Ron and Hermione there. He told them what happened, and Hermione agreed with both professors and lectured him for a further ten minutes.

2


	30. A Prediction and Sirius Black Revealed

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and his world belong to J.K. Rowling.

 **Chapter 30: A Prediction And Sirius Black Revealed**

Harry and Ron climbed the north tower to the Divination classroom. As they entered the stuffy classroom, Professor Trelawney appeared, draped in gauzy scarves.

"Good morning my dears," she said in a misty voice. "Welcome to Divination."

Hermione dropped the class after only a few lessons, tiring of Professor Trelawney's constant predictions about Harry's impending death, declaring the whole subject to be nonsense. Today started with Professor Trelawney gazing at Harry through worried eyes.

"What is it Professor?" Lavender Brown gushed.

"Mr. Potter," she said, looking straight at him. "I was observing the signs in a crystal ball and I saw the Grim!" Her face scrunched up as her eyes rolled back into her head.

"The Dark Lord's servant will be forced out of hiding and return to his master. Friends will reveal him and an innocent man will go free. The Dark Lord's servant will be revealed today," she said in an unfamiliar voice.

As suddenly as the exclamation happened, she snapped back to normal, looking at her class and blinking her magnified eyes.

"What's wrong my dears?" she asked in her normal misty tone.

"Are you alright Professor?" Harry asked.

"I'm fine, why do you ask?" she asked.

"You just made a prediction!" Harry said.

"Oh, I think you must have zoned out for a moment," she said. "Now let's get back to work interpreting your dreams!"

After class, Harry and Ron met Hermione outside by the lake.

"That was weird," said Ron.

"What happened?" said Hermione.

"Professor Trelawney went all funny and made an eerie prediction about the return of the dark lord's servant," answered Harry.

"What? But Divination is nonsense. I have not read any books that speak of real predictions," continued Hermione.

"Wow, Hermione Granger doesn't know something?" Ron teased. She glared at him.

Suddenly Scabbers freaked out, attempting to escape Ron's pocket. Ron frantically tried holding onto the struggling rat as Harry caught sight of a rangy, black, dog, rapidly striding towards them. Harry caught Hermione's attention and elbowed Ron, pointing out the approaching canine.

The dog looked around as if checking to see who was around. Apparently deeming the situation safe, it started shifting into the shape of a human.

The three friends screamed. Standing in front of them was none other than Sirius Black.

"Black," Harry snarled. "What are you doing here?"

"Harry!" Black said, rushing over to him. Harry felt himself being pulled into Black's arms.

Hermione yelled, "Let him go!"

"Harry, I haven't seen you since you were a baby," said Black.

"Let me go! What do you want?" Harry said, fighting against the restraint. Black released him but did not move away.

"I want to talk to you and your friends," said Black.

"We better take you to Professor Dumbledore," Harry said. "He'll know what to do with you."

"Please, you have to listen," Black pleaded.

He transformed back into a dog and followed them to Albus' office. Albus looked questioningly at the dog.

"Why do you have a dog?" he asked.

The dog shifted smoothly into Sirius Black. Albus looked angry.

"Please get Remus," Black demanded.

Albus raised his eyebrows, but sent Hermione to summon Professor Lupin. Albus bound Black to a chair and forced veritaserum into his mouth once Remus Lupin arrived.

"What is your name?" Albus asked.

"Sirius Orion Black."

"Were you the Potters' secret keeper?"

"No, I convinced them to use Peter Pettigrew."

"Please explain what happened, starting from the death of the Potters."

"The night Harry's parents died, I wanted to take Harry and raise him myself. But of course, Peter Pettigrew had to get in the way of everything. He pulled me aside in the middle of a street full of muggles, blaming me for the murder, before blowing apart the street and cutting off his own finger before transforming into a rat and escaping the scene. The aurors took me to Azkaban without a trial. I wanted to be a good godfather to Harry. But I knew Albus Dumbledore would watch over Harry. Then I escaped Azkaban by turning into a dog and slipping out the door and past the guards."

"When did you learn to be an animagus?" Albus asked.

"When Peter, James, Remus, and I were in school, we wanted to make sure that Remus wasn't alone while transforming on the full moon, so we became animagi. Peter is a rat, I am a dog, and James was a stag."

"Please continue with your story," said Albus.

"I escaped Azkaban, and wanted to find Harry, I figured he would be a Hogwarts' student. I caught sight of Ron's rat that I recognized immediately as Peter. I met a squashed-face orange cat on the grounds. He knew I was not a dog and the rat was not a rat. He helped me by trying to separate the rat from Ron. Today I saw then sitting by the lake and knew by scent the rat was with them so I approached and am here now being questioned."

After he lapsed into silence, Albus turned to Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Professor Lupin. "He's innocent," he said quietly. "Sirius, did you know that I'm Harry's guardian?"

Sirius widened his eyes in disbelief. "You are?"

"Yes," said Albus with a wide smile on his face. "Now, Mr. Weasley, please give me the rat."

All of a sudden, the door opened to reveal Professor McGonagall. Scabbers bit Ron, who dropped him in surprise. The rat wasted no time in bolting through the door.

"NO!" Sirius yelled. "Catch that bloody rat!"

Professor McGonagall looked surprised to see Sirius there, and drew her wand.

"Minerva, lower your wand," said Albus quickly. "He's innocent."

"How can you be so sure Headmaster?" she asked.

"Because I interviewed him under veritaserum," said Albus. "Peter Pettigrew sold out the Potters to Voldemort before framing Sirius for both their murders and the murders of the muggles.

Professor McGonagall looked at Sirius in disbelief shining in her eyes.

"It's true Professor," Harry said.

She sighed and nodded. They could tell that she didn't fully believe it yet, but she was going to give Sirius a chance.

"Sirius, I will set up a hearing with the Ministry this week. If all goes well, you will be free," said Albus, once everyone in the room focused back onto him.

Sirius smiled.

"Sirius?" Harry asked softly. "You won't be upset if I don't live with you, right?"

"Of course not Harry!" said Sirius. "As long as Professor Dumbledore here is taking care of you, and he loves you, that's all that matters to me. You're in good hands Harry."

Harry smiled. Suddenly, he remembered something. "Professor Dumbledore?" he asked. "Professor Trelawney made a prediction today."

"Oh? And what did it say?" Albus asked.

Once Harry told him, Albus looked grave. "Harry, I would like a word with you in private. Sirius, you may stay in one of the guest rooms tonight. Minerva, please show him his room. Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger, you may return to Gryffindor Tower. Professor Lupin will escort you. Harry will be staying here tonight."

"Sir, is he in trouble?" Hermione asked.

"No Miss Granger," said Albus. "But it will be awhile, then he's going straight to bed. There's been a lot happening tonight."

Everyone left the room, leaving Harry and Albus alone in the quiet office.

3


	31. Trelawney's Other Prophecy

Disclaimer: Still don't own Harry Potter.

Note: The prophecy is a direct quote from the U.S.A version of Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix by J.K. Rowling.

 **Chapter 31: Trelawney's Other Prophecy**

"What's wrong Albus?" Harry asked. Based on the expression on Albus' face, this was going to be bad.

"Harry, there's something I need to tell you and it will likely take the rest of the evening. Shall I order tea and biscuits?"

"Yes please," Harry said.

Albus called an elf that delivered a full tea service, complete with Harry's favorite biscuits.

"Before you and Neville Longbottom were born, I interviewed Professor Trelawney, seeing as we needed a new Divination teacher. I was quite disappointed in what I found as she seemed to lack any capability in the subject, despite about her; she didn't seem to know that much about Divination at all. So when I was about to leave, she made a prediction."

"Like the one she made today?" Harry asked.

"Yes, quite. I would like to show you." He stood up and walked over to the cabinet where he kept the pensieve. He set it on desk, and after a moment, a miniature image of Professor Trelawney rose from the misty contents, speaking in the same strange voice as in her most recent prediction,

The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…Born to those

who have thrice defied him, Born as the seventh month dies…And the Dark

Lord will mark him as his equal, But he will have power the Dark Lord knows

not…And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the

other survives…The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born

as the seventh month dies…

(Rowling, 841)

Harry was stunned. "Was that a real prophecy?"

"Yes," said Albus. "And Professor Snape heard half of it, which he reported to Lord Voldemort."

"So there's proof he's a Death Eater!" Harry said.

"No Harry. He was a Death Eater, but he changed sides before Lord Voldemort's downfall. His exact reasons are not up for discussion. He will explain only when he is ready."

"Sir, if encountering me as a baby destroyed him, why was I placed with the Dursleys?"

"Ah, I'm afraid that was my error in judgment. I wanted you to grow up without the pressures of fame, and protected from anyone wanting revenge. I assumed your mother's sister would care for you like her own son. I was mistaken. The blood protection created by your mother's sacrifice could protect you from outside dangers but not the neglect by her own sister." Albus looked deeply saddened.

After a moment to digest this new information, Harry let the subject drop.

"So, I have to kill Voldemort?" Harry asked. "And no one else can?"

"Exactly," said Albus.

"But, but, I can't do this alone," Harry said.

Albus smiled gently at him. "Harry, I didn't say you had to go through this alone. You will kill him, rest assured, but I will be there with you. As will your friends and professors."

"Is Professor Lupin is a werewolf?" Harry asked.

"Yes Harry, but he only transforms on the full moons. You are safe. However, it seems that the Ministry is unhappy that he's a teacher here, and many parents want him to leave."

"But he's the best Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher ever!" Harry said.

"I understand Harry, but it will be unlikely if the ministry allows him to come back next year."

Harry sighed in disappointment. "Oh," he said. "Can I tell Ron and Hermione about the prophecy?"

"Yes Harry, but only them. No one else," said Albus sternly.

"Okay," Harry said standing up. "I'll go to bed now." He walked into his room and lay in bed for an hour thinking about the prophecy.

It was his job to defeat Voldemort, no one else's. Yet he reminded himself that his friends and family would be there to help and support him. Perhaps it would be ok in the end.

2


	32. The Dark Mark

Disclaimer: Harry Potter characters still belong to J. K. Rowling.

 **Chapter 32: The Dark Mark**

Ron and Hermione were shocked to hear about the prophecy, and they both promised to be there for Harry. Plus, Albus finally signed the Hogsmeade permission form.

On a quiet summer day, Harry was sitting in his room in Albus' quarters, reading a book that went with his Potions homework, when he heard a knock at his door. Albus came in, looking serious. Harry looked up from his homework.

"Harry, I would like to tell you about the Tri-Wizard Tournament that Hogwarts will be hosting during the upcoming year. It's a tournament where our school, and two other schools compete in three tasks. One student from each school is picked to compete. These tasks are very dangerous. The reason the tournaments were halted was due to the climbing death toll. However, we decided to give it another try, except this time, only students who are at least 17 years old can compete."

"Wow," Harry breathed. "So why are you telling me now? Why not make me wait until September when you tell the other students?"

"I decided to let you know now, because I can not keep all the planning secret from you as you live here."

"Thanks for telling me," said Harry, excited to know about plans for the upcoming year. He went to pick his book back up, but Albus stopped him.

"Harry, I'm warning you. If you put your name into compete, I will not be happy."

"I won't, don't worry," Harry said. Albus smiled at him before leaving the room.

It was late that night and Harry and Albus were sitting near the fire, talking and laughing about different pranks that the Weasley twins pulled the year before. Albus found the pranks amusing, even though he had to give them detentions. Harry was curled up on the couch, his eyes half-closing, when a patronus came through the window and started speaking.

"Dumbledore, you must come quick. The Dark Mark has appeared after the Quidditch World Cup game ended."

Harry shivered. Albus had told him what the Dark Mark was, and suddenly, he wasn't sleepy anymore. "Is everyone ok?" he asked.

Albus sighed and stood up. "Harry, please go to bed. I must go check to see that everyone's alright." He swept from the room quickly, leaving Harry alone. He remembered his friends were at the Quidditch World Cup. He would have gone if he hadn't left his homework for the last minute. Oh no! He thought. Are Ron and Hermione ok?

But he knew that he had to obey Albus, and to just go to bed. He lay in bed for an hour, and still, he wasn't asleep. Three hours later, Albus returned. The moment Harry heard Albus' footsteps coming closer; he shot out of bed and rushed to the sitting room.

Albus was taking off his travelling cloak when Harry ran in. "Harry, I thought you were asleep," he said.

"Is everyone alright?" Harry asked worriedly.

"Yes," said Albus. "No one was hurt. But it seems that Mr. Crouch's house-elf, Winky, was stunned by someone, and she was set free. So now, she's going to come here, and so is Dobby."

"Dobby?" Harry asked.

"Yes," said Albus. "Now, don't you worry, everyone's fine. Go back to bed."

Harry obeyed, and went to sleep right away, now that he was sure that everyone was fine.

As Harry ate his cereal the following morning, grumpily thinking about all the homework he still had to do, Hedwig landed next to him, holding her leg with its attached letter, out to him and hooting impatiently. Harry excitedly took the letter, eager to hear what his friends had to say about the World Cup. The letter started out in Ron's handwriting before switching to Hermione's.

 _Dear Harry,_

 _Hey mate! The Quidditch game was awesome! We saw Krum up close after he caught the snitch. Hermione thinks he looks like an unhappy duck but who cares? He's a bloody brilliant Seeker!_

 _He did look quite surly and walked awkwardly. Ron says none of that matters since he can fly. I think he's in love. After the match was scary, someone fired the Dark Mark into the sky and multiple people marched through the campsites dressed in dark robes with masks. Mr. Weasley quickly shuffled us out of the way and to safety. We left early this morning and are now back at the Burrow._

 _Have you finished your homework? Ron is sticking his tongue out at me; I don't think he finished his Transfiguration essay._

 _We'll see you soon Harry,_

 _Ron & Hermione_

Reading the letter made Harry sad that he'd missed the game but he was glad to hear from his friends. He wrote quick, separate, letters in reply. No doubt Hermione would be upset with him for putting off his homework for so long over the summer.

2


	33. Was it Really a Nightmare?

Disclaimer: Still the same.

 **Chapter 33: Was it Really a Nightmare?**

September 1st marked the start of a new school year, Harry's fourth. As Dumbledore stood to give his start of term announcements after the Sorting but before the food appeared, a man entered the hall. Harry recognized him as Mad-Eye Moody. Harry waved to Moody as the man walked up to the staff table. Dumbledore nodded at him, and Moody took an empty seat. Harry listened to Dumbledore's announcements about the Tri-Wizard Tournament, but a certain announcement caught his full attention.

"On October 30th, representative students from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons will arrive. On October 31st, right after the conclusion of dinner, the Goblet of Fire will select the names of students who will compete in the tournament."

After they ate, they made their way to Gryffindor Tower.

"You know," said Fred. "We should totally just use an aging potion to get in! Then no one will know!"

"Great idea Fred," said George with a wicked smile.

"Not a good idea," said Hermione. "I'm sure Professor Dumbledore will find out if you do that."

"Doubt it," said Fred.

Harry sighed. He knew that Albus would be impressed, but as they were underage, they would not be allowed t compete.

Harry fell asleep quickly, but it was not peaceful. In his dream, there was a man Harry didn't quite recognize, and a voice that said, "Wormtail."

"Yes, my Lord?" the man asked.

"Did the plan work?" the icy voice asked.

"Y-yes my Lord," said Wormtail.

"Good," said the icy voice. "And by the end of this year, Potter will be all mine!"

"Yes my Lord," said Wormtail, though he looked a bit nervous now. "But my Lord, what about Snape?"

"Snape," the cold voice spat. "He betrayed me in Potter's first year. He won't last long. He was trying to save Potter from the Sorcerer's Stone. Even worse, he made it clear to me that he betrayed me! He will pay, that is for sure..."

Meanwhile, Ron was just going to bed, and intended on saying goodnight to Harry. He walked over to Harry's bed and was shocked to see a scared look on Harry's face. Ron knew he was asleep but it looked like he was having a nightmare.

"Harry?" he asked. No response. "Harry? Harry, it's Ron. Wake up..."

Suddenly, Harry sat bolt upright, and a scream reached his ears. Ron immediately took action, running out to the common room and shouting, "Hermione! Get up! Quick! Hurry!"

Hermione came running down the stairs from the girls dormitory, and quickly said, "What is it Ron?"

"Harry had a nightmare, and when I couldn't wake him up, he just sat up suddenly and started screaming," Ron said shakily.

Hermione looked startled, but immediately took charge. "Ron, get Professor McGonagall," she demanded. Ron ran out the portrait hole, heading for Professor McGonagall's office. Hermione went to Harry's side, and attempted to calm him down. She quickly found that she couldn't, so she just sat on his bed, waiting for Professor McGonagall. By this time, the whole house was awake. Moments later, Professor McGonagall arrived, accompanied by Professor Dumbledore.

"Professors!" Hermione cried. "I'm sorry, I don't know what to do."

Dumbledore quickly went to Harry's side, rubbing circles on his back while murmuring comforting words. Professor McGonagall ordered everyone to go back to bed, even Ron and Hermione.

About 10 minutes later, Harry was calmer and cradled in Dumbledore's arms. Professor McGonagall retrieved a dose of Dreamless Sleep potion from Professor Snape. She returned just in time to hear Albus begin to questions Harry about his nightmare.

"Harry, what was your dream about?" he asked softly.

"I-It was Voldemort talking to Wormtail," Harry said.

"Who?" Professor McGonagall asked sharply.

"Pettigrew," Harry said.

"Oh dear Merlin," Professor McGonagall said in shock.

Meanwhile, Dumbledore was thinking about what Harry said. This could only mean one thing.

"Harry, does your scar hurt?" he asked gently.

"Yes," Harry said. "Voldemort wants to kill Snape, I think. He knows that Snape betrayed him."

"Professor Snape is safe at Hogwarts," Dumbledore said firmly. "I know that you don't like Professor Snape very much, but don't worry, he'll be fine."

"And Voldemort said that he'll have me by the end of this year," Harry said. By this time, Professor McGonagall looked about ready to get up and hug him, but she stayed where she was.

"I'm sorry Mr. Potter," she said. "That must have been hard for you."

"Indeed," said Dumbledore. "Don't worry Harry, you're at Hogwarts. No one will hurt you here." He hugged Harry tightly before standing up.

Professor McGonagall came over to him, with a vial in her hand. "Mr. Potter," she said. "I expect for you to drink this. It's Dreamless Sleep potion."

"Yes Professor," Harry said, taking the vial from her and drinking it quickly. It wasn't the first time he had to take the potion, and he found that if he didn't drink it fast enough, he would fall asleep before he could finish it. Professor McGonagall left, but Dumbledore stayed behind for a few minutes, just watching Harry sleep. He knew this was the beginning of chaos. This was Harry's first vision and things get worse before they get better.

"I'm sorry my child," he whispered, though Harry couldn't hear him. "I wish I could take this stress away from you." With a last look, he ran a hand through Harry's hair before leaving him for the night.

2


	34. Moody's Class

Disclaimer: Belongs to J.K. Rowling, we just borrow the characters.

 **Chapter 34: Moody's Class**

Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat in the Defense classroom, waiting for class to start. Harry was thinking about what Albus told him about his scar potentially being connected to Voldemort. Hermione wanted him to take Dreamless Sleep potion every night in order to avoid future nightmares but Albus cautioned him against the overuse of the potion. This warning had Hermione scurrying to the library to learn why and Ron rolling his eyes while refusing to help her.

"Good morning," growled Moody, slamming the classroom door, snapping Harry out of his thoughts. "Today we are going to talk about the three Unforgivable curses."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked startled, especially Harry, he knew about them from a previous discussion with Albus.

"First up is the Imperius Curse. This curse gives the caster control of the subject," said Moody. "Mr. Potter, up here!"

Harry slowly made his way up to Moody's desk. "Professor Moody," he said politely. "You can't cast any of the curses on students, it's illegal."

"The headmaster gave me permission to demonstrate for the class," said Moody. "Now, Imperio!"

Harry felt a strange sensation, and heard a far away voice say, "Jump on the desk!" However, the command seemed silly so Harry did not move.

Finally, the curse was lifted, and Moody growled, "You can fight the curse, Potter. Not many people can. Take your seat."

Harry walked back to where his friends were waiting, and Ron patted him on the back, congratulating him.

"Mr. Weasley, up here!" Moody demanded. Ron hesitantly approached Professor Moody, stopping a few feet from him.

"The second one is the Cruciatus, a torture curse."

Harry and Hermione exchanged a worried, questioning look.

"Crucio!" said Moody.

Ron's eyes widened as he fell, screaming in pain, to the floor.

Hermione stood abruptly and yelled, "Stop it! You're hurting him!" Her face was pale with both fear and anger.

After 30 seconds, Moody lifted the curse, allowing Ron to pick himself up and shakily return to his seat. Moody then took a spider out of a cage.

"The third curse is Avada Kedavra, the killing curse. I will not kill a student, but this spider will be an excellent stand-in," Moody said. "Only one person is known to have survived this curse and today he proved a resistance to another of the Unforgivable curses."

Professor Moody raised his wand, aiming at the spider, and said, "Avada Kedavra!" A bright green light hit the spider, killing it instantly.

The class was silent in various stages of shock.

"Homework is to write 2 feet on why these curses are unforgivable and the consequences of their use. Dismissed."

Harry and his friends walked out of Defense Against The Dark Arts in a daze. Harry wasn't sure about reporting the incident to Professor Dumbledore so Hermione made the decision for him. She instructed him to take Ron to the hospital wing while she went to see the Headmaster.

"Ah, Miss Granger, how can I help you, child?" he asked kindly.

"Headmaster, Professor Moody said you gave him permission to use the unforgivable curses during class," Hermione said. "Is that true?"

"Yes Miss Granger," he said. "I gave him permission to perform them in class and demonstrate their effects on spiders."

"He used the killing curse on a spider, but performed the other two on students he selected from class," she huffed.

The Headmaster looked alarmed. "Which students?"

"He used Imperio on Harry," she said. "But Harry can fight it."

Dumbledore beamed at her. "That's excellent! And the other student?"

"He used Crucio on Ron," she said. "I told him to stop, but he held the curse for 30 seconds."

The Headmaster's face tightened in anger. "That is unacceptable. I will speak with him immediately. Please escort Mr. Weasley to the hospital wing and let Madam Pomfrey know what happened to him."

"I made Harry take Ron to the hospital wing while I came to speak with you."

He smiled at Hermione and dismissed her. She left the room, content with her decision to go straight to the Headmaster. She knew Professor Moody would get a well-deserved warning but part of her hoped lessons would continue to be exciting and filled with new real-life knowledge.

2


	35. Chosen

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. No copyright infringement is intended and no money is being made from this story.

 **Chapter 35: Chosen**

October 30th came bringing with it the arrival of the other two magical schools. Madame Olympe Maxime, the Headmistress of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, caused quite a stir for she was as tall as Hagrid. The Headmaster of Durmstrang Institute, Igor Karkaroff, was a normal-sized man but looked nastier than Professor Snape.

All the students and guest gathered in the Great Hall for a formal welcome meal and information about the upcoming tournament. The hall went silent as Professor Dumbledore stood at the front of the room.

"Welcome students!" he said cheerfully. "If you don't know me yet, I am Professor Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

"Of course we know who he is!" Ron hissed.

"He's talking about the other two schools, Ron!" Hermione hissed back.

"Now," continued Dumbledore. "Tomorrow night, we will find out who is chosen to compete in the Tri-Wizard Tournament. There will be three champions, one from each school. Tonight, I am going to set the Goblet of Fire on a table in the Entrance Hall. If you wish to compete and are at least 17, please write your name and school on a piece of parchment. Then place it into the Goblet of Fire. I must warn you. If you are chosen, you must compete. Decide very carefully, there are many dangers ahead for the champions. To discourage younger students from attempting to enter, I will be putting an age line around the Goblet of Fire, which will prevent the submissions of younger students. I wish you all luck." He smiled at the students before exiting the hall.

"Fred and George aren't going to succeed in this," said Ron. "Because the age line..."

"Right," said Hermione. "And if they still try, then they'll regret it."

The next day, Harry had trouble focusing in his classes. He wondered who would be picked. Fred and George had already tried, and they found themselves in the hospital wing for beard removal.

That night, after the Halloween feast, Filch set the Goblet of Fire on a table in front of the staff table. Professor Dumbledore called everyone to attention.

"The Goblet of Fire will now select the Tri-Wizard Champions. If your name is called, please exit the hall through the door at my left."

The Goblet of Fire lit up, and a piece of paper came out.

"Mr. Viktor Krum from Durmstrang! Miss Fleur Delacour from Beauxbatons! Mr. Cedric Diggory from Hogwarts!"

Everyone cheered and clapped for the selected participants. Professor Dumbledore was about to move away when the Goblet of Fire lit up a fourth time. The hall was silent. Another piece of paper came out. Dumbledore looked at it, looked at Harry, and looked back at the paper.

"Harry Potter?" he said. Harry sat, stunned. Professor Snape glared at Harry while Professor McGonagall's mouth dropped open in shock.

"Harry Potter, come here please!" said Professor Dumbledore. Harry walked up to the staff table shakily.

"I didn't do it," he said when he got up to Dumbledore.

"Through the door please," he said softly. Harry went through the door, and met with the other champions. He was scared how this would turn out. Did Albus believe him? He waited impatiently for the staff to enter. The wait of less than five minutes felt like hours.

Once the door opened, admitting the headmasters and headmistress, plus a few other staff members, Professor Dumbledore turned to face the gathered people.

"Mr. Potter did not enter himself into the Tournament."

"He must be lying!" Interjected a furious Madame Maxime.

"He is not lying, he is a child, unable to confuse a powerful, unbiased object," barked Professor Moody.

"I don't want to compete! I just want to watch the Tournament with everyone else and cheer for Cedric!" Shouted an upset Harry.

"I'm sorry Harry but you have no choice. There is nothing I can do. I will personally start an investigation into who entered your name into the Goblet," said Albus in an attempt to comfort the distraught teen.

After the rules of the Tournament were explained to the four students, Harry headed for Gryffindor tower as fast as he could, without running. The common room was packed. Harry squeezed his way through the suddenly silent room towards his friends. Hermione, through her tears, promised to help him in any way she could. Ron looked skeptical but seemed convinced Harry had not entered himself, especially once he knew Professors Dumbledore and Moody were looking into how such a powerful magical object could be tricked into selecting four students for an event involving three students.

2


	36. Fiction or Fact

Disclaimer: Still the same as the previous 35 (!) chapters.

Note: Gah! I'm sorry! The delay in posting was totally my fault as the author was on spring break with plenty of free time. I blame work and a series of really boring adult things. Now, the next chapter!

 **Chapter 36: Fiction or Fact?**

Harry and Ron sat in the common room trying figure out their Divination homework, when a student popped through the portrait hole and told Harry there was a woman asking about him in the corridor. Confused, Harry exited the tower, immediately catching sight of the bizarre woman.

"Ah!" she exclaimed once she caught sight of Harry. "You must be Harry! I'm Rita Skeeter, Daily Prophet reporter. Let's find a place to talk, shall we?" She smiled widely and waited impatiently for him to follow her. She led him to an empty classroom.

"Oh, yes," said Harry. "I've seen some of your articles."

"Fantastic!" said Skeeter cheerfully. "Now Harry, all I ask is for you to answer some questions for me then you'll be good to go."

"Ok," said Harry.

"Firstly," she said, getting out a roll of parchment and a quill. "Why did you put your name into the Goblet of Fire?"

"I didn't," Harry said.

But the quill was writing as Harry talked.

"Oh but how else could you have gotten in?" she asked. "Surely you didn't ask another student to do it for you, did you?"

"No," Harry said quickly.

"Oh Harry," she said. "It's obvious. There's no other possible way that you could have gotten into the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Would your parents be angry if they found out you entered the tournament?"

"I told you that I didn't," Harry snapped. This woman was beginning to irritate him.

The quill continued writing.

"And last question," she said. "Do you think your guardian is angry with you?"

"No," Harry snapped. "He believes me."

Skeeter just smiled serenely at him.

Harry was angry. How dare this woman accuse him of lying? Suddenly, Professor McGonagall burst into the room, and glared at the reporter.

"Ms. Skeeter," she said in a cold voice. "What are you doing with Mr. Potter?"

"Professor McGonagall!" said Skeeter with a grin. "I was merely chatting with Mr. Potter and getting to know him a bit."

"I shall be reporting this to the headmaster. Off with you! Mr. Potter, please return to your common room, no detours."

Skeeter opened her mouth to speak, but the death glare she was given by Professor McGonagall stopped her. She got up and left, but not before saying, "The news must be reported, tomorrow everyone will know the truth!"

After a restless night, Harry sat at the breakfast table, fuzzily stirring his bowl of porridge and contemplating whether he should try ordering coffee. Hearing a _thump_ , Harry looked up at the owl delivering his copy of the Daily Prophet. After putting a few Knuts in the owl's leg pouch and offering the bird some bacon, Harry unfurled the paper and nearly dropped it into his bowl.

 _HARRY JAMES POTTER: CHEAT OR CHOSEN?_

 _By Rita Skeeter_

 _Mr. Harry J. Potter is a 12-year-old boy who put his name into the Goblet of Fire, and now is going to compete in the Tri-Wizard Tournament. His guardian is most likely furious with him for doing such a foolish thing, and his parents would be quite disappointed. Stay tuned for the next installment on the 'mysterious' circumstances surrounding Mr. Potter and the Tri-Wizard Tournament._

In a fit of temper, he set to the paper on fire, catching the attention of Professor McGonagall. In an instant, she was standing next to him, scolding him.

"Did you see what she wrote about me? That quill must record the exact opposite of the spoken words!"

Professor McGonagall sighed. "Rita Skeeter is known for her half-truths and embellishment of interviews. Unfortunately, many people read her stories and take them as true representations of the subjects. It will be hard but try your best to ignore the reactions of your classmates. Please inform me if you have any problems. And five points from Gryffindor for using a dangerous spell at breakfast."

2


	37. Feline vs Insect

Author's note: Thank you for all the reviews! I am trying to change the story more away from the books a bit, so if you have any advice about how the story should go, please let me know! Now, to the chapter!

 **Chapter 37: Feline vs. Insect**

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were in the common room discussing Harry's interrupted interview with Rita Skeeter.

"I think Professor McGonagall hates Rita Skeeter," Harry said. "When she came in, she seemed cold and was very abrupt."

"She didn't even ask what you talked about with her? Hate could definitely be a distraction," said Ron. "She just told her that she was going to report her unless she removed herself from Hogwarts?"

"Yeah," said Harry. "You should have seen her. Usually she's stern, but I've never seen her behave like that with an adult."

"Go ask her, I'm sure she'll explain," said Ron.

"No," said Harry firmly. "She doesn't like revealing personal information, and whatever this is, I'm sure it is personal. Maybe I'll go talk to Albus, I bet he knows."

"I really think…." Hermione started, but Harry was already out of the portrait hole, on his way to the Headmaster's office.

"What can I do for you today, Harry?" Albus asked, sitting calmly behind his desk.

"Did Professor McGonagall tell you about my interview with Rita Skeeter?" Harry asked.

"Yes, she did, and I saw the paper this morning. I'm sorry I was unable to keep her away from you. What is troubling you?"

"Well," said Harry slowly. "I'm confused over Professor McGonagall's reaction to seeing Skeeter. She seems to really hate her, to the point where it distracted her from the entire situation. What did Rita Skeeter do?"

Albus sighed deeply and then said, "Harry, there's a reason and I will tell you but you are not allowed to tell anyone else, not even Ron and Hermione. In the future, please go to the actual person who you want to know about. Professor McGonagall is a very private person but, in this instance, will not object to me sharing this story with you."

"I promise not to share this information," Harry said honestly.

"Well Harry, back when you were a toddler, Professor McGonagall helped me care for you by teaching me how to properly feed you, change nappies, and eventually potty train."

Harry made a face but did not interrupt.

"Rita Skeeter saw that situation, and as is her way, wrote an article for the Daily Prophet about how Professor McGonagall and I were obviously married and raising you together as our adopted son. Professor McGonagall and I are dear friends, nothing more, nothing less. Professor McGonagall reacted rather badly to the news article and the large amount of public letters, both good and bad, it generated. She sent a Howler, yelling at Skeeter for publishing false information. Rita Skeeter never apologized but never wrote an article similar to that again. Seeing Rita Skeeter causes Professor McGonagall to remember all the mean things said to her by students and the general public after that article."

"Wow," Harry whispered. "I don't remember her helping you, though I do remember her being around lots."

"You were just a toddler," he said. "You used to call her Minna, which seemed to impress her, but she quickly taught you how to say her proper name. It was quite bizarre to hear a three-year-old perfectly pronounce 'Minerva'. But back to the subject at hand, after that, she made sure to only help behind closed doors, she was the mother figure that you so desperately needed, much better with discipline than I. I wish that she would just put the situation in the past." He sighed and stood up. "It's getting quite late. You should be getting back to Gryffindor tower and finish the homework I know you have not done."

Harry offered a sheepish smile before ducking out the door, noting he'd somehow spent longer than he'd intended with Albus.

"You can come out now, Minerva," stated Albus.

Professor McGonagall appeared through the door leading to Albus' private sitting room.

"When did you come in?"

"I was just about to enter your office when I realized you were talking to someone other than Fawkes, right as you mentioned that foul reporter's name. And no, I cannot just leave the incident in the past."

Albus interlaced his fingers under his chin, looking thoughtful, "I banned her from entering the school and all associated grounds. I also contacted the Daily Prophet to remind them that contacting minors without parental consent is in bad taste and further harassment of my students would force me to contact Magical Law Enforcement. The editor promised to print an official apology and rescind the story."

Professor McGonagall relaxed, gazing into the fire for a moment, "And you trust him not to share this information?

Looking up from his hands to meet her gaze, Albus said, "I trust Harry."

In Gryffindor tower, Hermione and Ron were trying to weasel the information out of Harry but he stayed stubbornly silent. When he returned and found them waiting all he explained was Professor McGonagall definitely had a good reason but it was really none of their business. Since then he had ignored their continued prodding.

Dropping the subject, Hermione asked, "Are you ready for the First Task? Its in two weeks."

Harry gasped in horror as he shook his head.

"Come on you two, we are going to the library."

"But Hermione, its after curfew!"

Hermione glanced at the clock, shocked by the time.

"Tomorrow then, no complaints. Good night you two."

Alone in the common room, Harry and Ron looked at each other and shrugged.

As he readied himself for bed, Harry considered Albus' mentions of him as a toddler. He formulated a plan to request to view memories in the pensieve of some of his antics. He fell asleep grinning.

2


	38. Memories of Childhood

**Chapter 38: Memories of Childhood**

Harry cornered Albus a few days later to ask about his memories of Harry's childhood. Albus agreed to meet with him on Saturday afternoon. Saturday afternoon found Harry sitting impatiently in a chair as Albus carefully transferred two strands of memory into the waiting pensieve.

"Remember, you are an only an observer," Albus reminded him.

Harry nodded, before leaning over the pensieve, entering face first. Landing smoothly, he looked around, noting he was in Albus' sitting room. Harry decided his younger self looked less than three while Minerva and Albus looked about the same.

 _"Harry, I must go to the Ministry for a meeting," Albus said gently. Harry clutched Albus' robes as tears started running down his face. Minerva picked him up in an attempt to comfort him._

 _"Harry, sweetie, Albus will be back," she said gently._

 _Harry wriggled to get out of Minerva's arms, but she had a secure grip on him. Albus kissed Harry before saying, "Let him have a lemon drop. He likes those."_

 _"I think not," she said. "He doesn't need more sweets! You already gave him cake after lunch!"_

 _"Lemon drop!" Harry repeated, "Please Minna?"_

 _"Harry, you need to start calling me Minerva," said Minerva._

 _"You are in for a great time," said Albus with a smile. "I must be going. Distract him while I'm leaving."_

 _Minerva made his stuffed phoenix fly, catching Harry's attention as Albus Flooed out. Harry giggled as he grabbed for the stuffed phoenix._

 _"Where Alby?" Harry asked._

 _"Albus went to the Ministry Harry," she said gently. "He'll be back soon."_

 _"Minna play chess?" Harry asked._

 _"Harry, can you say Minerva?"_

 _"Minna!" Harry said, giggling._

 _Minerva's scowl soon melted into a smile as she continued gazing at the giggling child._

The image changed, and Harry found himself on the Quidditch pitch. Albus and Madam Hooch were showing him how to mount a training broom.

 _"Remember Harry, slow and steady," instructed Madam Hooch._

 _Harry kicked off the ground before Albus or Madam Hooch could stop him._

 _"Harry, wait!" cried Madam Hooch._

 _But Harry was laughing as he zoomed across the field. Suddenly, he lost his balance, tumbling to the ground. He let out a sharp cry of pain just as Albus reached him._

 _"Get Poppy," he said to Madam Hooch._

 _Moments later, Madam Pomfrey hurried out, followed closely by Minerva. Madam Pomfrey did a scan on him, and said, "His wrist is broken, but I can fix this in no time, he will need to come inside for a dose of skelegrow."_

 _Harry was still crying and clinging to Albus._

 _"He needs a time-out for disobeying," said Professor McGonagall._

 _"Minerva, he didn't know..." Albus started, but she cut him off._

 _"Albus, he needs to know what and what not to do. You have to stop treating him like a baby. He's four now. He needs time-out to understand his actions have consequences."_

 _Minerva picked little Harry up and headed inside. After being given the skelegrow and a few sips of water, Minerva sent a small Harry to the corner, ignoring the falling tears. She left for a few minutes, telling Albus Harry needed to stay in the corner until she returned to speak with him. Once she was gone, Harry tried to plead his case with Albus. "I'm sorry. I wanted to go and you didn't tell me to wait."_

 _"Do you promise to wait until you are given permission in the future?" Albus asked._

 _Harry nodded. Albus picked him up, and carried him into his room. He set him down, gave him some blocks, and left. Five minutes later, Minerva returned._

 _"Albus! Why did you release him from his time-out?"_

 _"Minerva, I understand Harry's not a baby, I'd say getting hurt was enough of a punishment. He was the one to apologize, so I let him go play."_

 _Minerva sighed. "Fine, did you at least explain what he did wrong?" Seeing Albus' shifty look, she huffed. "I think Albus, that now that Harry's older, you need to take sole responsibility of discipline. If he ends up in Gryffindor in the future, I will deal with his antics."_

 _Albus nodded in agreement._

 _"But remember," she pressed on. "Don't let him get away with everything, explain what he does wrong so he understands, and keep loving him." She smiled before leaving the room._

The scene dissolved and he was back in the present, "Wow, that was cool!"

Albus chuckled before saying, "As you saw, I could not bear punishing you, especially when you cried." He hugged Harry and said, "Professor McGonagall overheard our talk a few days ago and she is not cross with you. Well Harry, I dare you to go to her office now, and greet her as 'Minna'. I'm curious as to how she will react."

Harry smiled wickedly, waved to Albus, and took off for her office.

"Hello Mr. Potter," she said, waving him inside and shutting the door.

"Hi Minna.' Harry said, trying but failing to contain his laughter.

Her face contorted as she shouted, "Harry James Potter! You will address me as Professor McGonagall or Minerva if we are outside of school!"

"Sorry Professor, Albus dared me," Harry said.

She sighed and said, "He will regret that decision. Goodbye Mr. Potter!"

Harry darted out the door she held open for him. "See you Monday in Transfiguration, Professor!"

2


	39. The First Task

**Chapter 39: The First Task**

As Harry was leaving DADA to head to Potions, Professor Moody called out to him.

"Potter, my office now," he said.

Harry looked worried but followed the professor to his office, shooing his friends off to their next class and promising to meet them there.

"Do you know what the First Task is and are you prepared?"

"No sir," Harry said.

"I'll tell you but you must promise not to tell the Headmaster," Moody said.

"I promise," Harry said.

"Good. Now, the First Task is to retrieve a golden egg from the nest of a mother dragon. There will one dragon for each contestant," Moody growled.

"But how am I supposed to do that?" Harry asked. "Dragons breathe fire! And they're grouchy!"

"Right," said Moody. "But you can fly and lure the dragon off of its nest. When you get in to the pen, use a spell to call your broom to you."

"Ok," Harry said. "Thank you, Sir."

As he walked out of Professor Moody's office, he realized he had promised not to tell his guardian about something very important. He rarely kept secrets from Albus, but he wasn't going to break his promise to Professor Moody. Glancing at his watch, Harry realized he was officially late for Potions and did not have a pass. Taking off at a run, he slipped through the door, just in time to lose 30 points for being late.

November 24th came quickly, bringing icy cold weather. Harry, Fleur, Cedric, and Viktor were standing in the Champion's tent, awaiting instructions. Professor Dumbledore entered, holding a drawstring bag.

"Champions, over here. One at a time, please reach into this bag and remove a figurine with an attached number. The number indicates the order in which you will compete and the figurine indicates your foe."

Harry made his selection last, knowing by then that he would be the last to compete but still curious about the identity of his dragon. He shivered when the Headmaster identified the figurine as a Hungarian Horntail, the most dangerous one of all.

Fleur went first, then Viktor, then Cedric. Harry paced as he waited for his turn, gradually becoming more and more scared about the prospect of facing a dragon. He glanced at Albus, who was standing at the entrance of the tent, watching Cedric, his face creased with worry. At last, his name was called. Albus squeezed his shoulders in encouragement as Harry exited the tent and took his place just inside of the corral.

Harry pointed his wand towards the castle and shouted, "Accio Harry Potter's broom!"

As soon as he caught the speeding broom, he jumped on, and zoomed upwards, out of fire range. From below, he could hear shouts of, "Go Harry! Get the egg!"

Slowly he lured the angry mother dragon away from her nest for just long enough to dive down and grab the golden egg. The dragon's roar of anger, accompanied with a blast of fire, ensured Harry suffered a few burns to his arms and back as he flew quickly out of the pen. Once safely back on the ground, his friends and the other Gryffindors mobbed him, everyone trying to simultaneously congratulate him. Madam Pomfrey finally managed to force her way through the crowd and escorted Harry to the medical tent in order to treat his burns. Albus engulfed him in a hug, even as Madam Pomfrey attempted to spread burn salve. With a sigh, she gave up, telling Harry she would return in five minutes.

"Good job, my boy," Albus said, his voice a bit muffled in Harry's hair, "You did well, I'm so proud of you. Your next task is to figure out the clue the golden egg contains as it is crucial for your success in the Second Task." Harry smiled. "Now, I believe we should allow Poppy to do her work."

Madam Pomfrey spread the burn salve and wrapped the injuries. She instructed Harry to keep them dry overnight and shower in the morning. After hitting him with a freshening charm, she shooed the impatient boy out of the tent and back to his common room to celebrate with his peers.

2


	40. The Second Task

Author's Note: Please note that while there is no Yule Ball in this story, however there something else later on. You'll find out more in the next few chapters. Thank you for the reviews!

 **Chapter 40: The Second Task**

The next several weeks sped by for Harry. Before he knew it, it was Christmas. Since both Ron and Hermione went home to their families, Harry chose to stay with Albus in their quarters instead of in Gryffindor tower. Hogwarts remained much busier that season due to the presence of the students from the other schools. Harry meant to start his research into the egg but the darn thing merely screeched at him each time he released the latch. Harry loved Christmas; he sent gifts and cookies to his friends and received items in return. Albus gifted him a new watch, waterproof this time, since his last one met an early end just before the start of fall term.

Just after the New Year, Cedric cornered Harry and recommended he open the egg underwater. Taking advantage of the large tub in his quarters, Harry submersed the egg and opened it. Sticking his head under the water, he managed to work out that he would have to retrieve something from the village of the merpeople in the Black Lake. Harry thought it sounded simple, until he realized the village was underwater, in the deepest part of the lake. The moment Hermione returned, Harry ambushed her, convincing her to help him research. For reasons that drove Hermione crazy, they had to put the research aside in order to focus on their increasing homework load.

The night before the task saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione in the library. They had Harry's options narrowed down to two solutions, the bubblehead charm or gillyweed. Harry was certain he didn't have the time to perfect the charm and gillyweed seemed impossible to obtain.

"Oh, this is rubbish, you either have to practice the charm or find gillyweed," said Hermione, slamming a book shut.

In a swirl of robes, Madam Pince appeared next to their table, brusquely informing Ron that their head of house wished to speak with him. As he headed out the door, Madam Pince turned to shoo Hermione and Harry out of the library.

While Hermione rushed back to the common room, Harry walked at a much slower pace. As Harry meandered through the corridors, Dobby popped into sight, startling him.

"Harry Potter sir!" he squeaked. "Dobby heard you is wanting gillyweed!"

"Well, yes, I do want it but how…?" Harry gazed confusedly at the happy elf.

Dobby handed Harry the grey, slimy, mass, before wishing him luck and popping away.

"Thanks Dobby," Harry called to the fading sound.

Harry carefully stowed the gillyweed in the pocket of the clothes he planned on swimming in the following morning. He slept fitfully overnight, noticing Ron never returned.

The next day, Harry found himself standing next to the other champions on a platform over the water, shivering slightly in the chilly air. He could hear Hermione cheering with the other students as they waited for the task to begin.

Albus caught his eye and smiled at him encouragingly, Harry offered a brief nod in acknowledgment before shoving the gillyweed into his mouth and entering the water with the other champions. After a few moments of choking, Harry realized he now had webbed feet and hands, in addition to gills. He found swimming was now quite simple and the water no longer felt cold.

In no time, Harry was swimming towards the center of the lake. The singing of the merpeople helped guide him to the village plus he swore he saw Moaning Myrtle, though that seemed a bit odd. As he neared the village square, he saw the victims suspended, seeming to be asleep. He recognized Ron and Cho, but there was also a dark-haired girl, and a small girl who looked just like Fleur.

Cedric appeared, easily freeing Cho and carrying her to the surface. After a few moments, Viktor released the dark-haired girl and swam to the surface. Harry freed Ron but was unwilling to leave the small child alone.

Harry glanced at his watch, noting he only had fifteen minutes to complete the task within the time limit. Deciding he could not wait any longer, he quickly released the small girl. Moving quickly, he propelled himself and his two companions to the surface. The gillyweed wore off just before he broke the surface, so he gasped hungrily for the fresh air. Albus helped Harry, Ron, and the girl, Gabrielle, out of the cold water. Fleur raced over to him, pulling her sister into a tight hug as she thanked Harry for saving her sister. Harry looked a bit bashful at the attention.

"Merci beaucoup," said Gabrielle with a smile.

"You're welcome," Harry said. "I had to do something. I couldn't just leave you alone."

"You are outside the time limit," said Karkaroff.

"Now really," said Madam Maxime. "He wanted to be sure they would all be safe. He was brave!"

"I agree," said Professor Dumbledore. "All are factors to consider for scores."

As the judges deliberated the scores for the task, Madam Pomfrey forced Harry to drink a Pepper-up potion as she wrapped him in a big, soft, towel, imbued with a warming charm. Harry finally managed to convince her that he was fine, just as Professor Dumbledore cast a _Sonoru_ s so the crowd could hear him.

"Harry Potter and Cedric Diggory are tied for first place. Viktor Krum is in second, and Fleur Delacour is in third due to her failure to complete the task. Thank you."

The roar of approval from the crowd was deafening. Harry used their distraction to slip away, making a beeline for his warm bed, after a shower because he smelled like a lake.

2


	41. The Third Task

**Chapter 41: The Third Task**

The months after the Second Task leading up to the Third passed in a blur for Harry. He practiced his spell work with Hermione and Ron. He and Hermione took out many books from the library, reading up on spells before making lists of incantations and wand movements. With those lists, they practiced in empty classrooms during all of their spare time. Classes and homework never ceased but in Harry's mind, they were definitely not the focus. He did his homework and went to his classes but he was totally distracted. His distraction increased as the Third Task loomed closer.

On the night of the Third Task, Hermione and Ron wished him luck as they walked down to the Quidditch pitch. As his friends headed for the stands, Harry joined the huddle with the other champions just outside the maze entrance.

"This is it Champions. The goal of this task is to navigate the maze and its obstacles. Not long ago, Professor Moody placed the Tri-Wizard Cup at the center of the maze. Whoever reaches it first, wins," said Professor Dumbledore. "We wish you the best of luck. If you are hurt or are otherwise in need of help or rescue, please send up red sparks and someone will be in to retrieve you."

Harry and Cedric were first to enter the maze. At the first fork, Harry and Cedric parted. Harry lit his wand as the sky darkened. A sudden blast of cold and despair caused him to send his patronus out. The stag chased away the dementor. He kept walking until a spider grabbed him just when he caught a glimpse of the Cup. He screamed in surprise and pain. When the spider suddenly released him, he fell onto his stomach with blood going everywhere.

"Harry!" a voice called. "Harry!"

Harry looked up to see Cedric running towards him, a worried look on his face. He shot some spells at the spider and then helped Harry to his feet.

"Are you alright? Where is all the blood coming from?" he asked.

"I feel fine but I don't know from where I'm bleeding," Harry said. "Thanks Cedric."

"You're welcome," said Cedric. "Let's take the Cup together since we are both here."

Suddenly, a vision appeared in Harry's mind. Wormtail was standing there, wand pointed at Cedric, and the jet of green light from the killing curse zipping towards him.

Harry suddenly came back to reality and said, "No Cedric. I'll take it, and me alone. I think something bad is going to happen."

"No!" said Cedric. "Harry, please...this can be a tie!"

"No!" Harry yelled. "I'm sorry Cedric, but I have a bad feeling about that cup. So once I touch it, and something happens, please tell the Headmaster. Understand?"

Cedric looked worried, but nodded. "Ok Harry, be careful."

Harry smiled and walked towards the cup. The moment he touched the cup, he was gone.

1


	42. The Dark Lord's Return

Note: Does length make up for the cliffhanger on the last chapter?

Disclaimer: In case y'all forgot, Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. No copyright infringement is intended.

 **Chapter 42: The Dark Lord's Return**

Harry landed in a large field, which contained a boiling cauldron and a fidgeting Wormtail.

"Pettigrew," Harry spat.

"Restrain him," a cold voice said from nowhere. Abruptly, Harry found himself tied to a rock, unable to move his arms and legs, though he could feel his wand hidden safely in the sleeve of the arm Wormtail was not holding. Wormtail pulled a knife from his pocket and sliced open Harry's arm. He caught the dribbling blood in a small vial, which he then added to the large simmering cauldron. A white mist rose from the cauldron. When it cleared, a scary man said in a chilling voice, "Harry Potter, I am Lord Voldemort. I'm pleased to meet you once again."

Harry choked on a scream.

 _Meanwhile, at Hogwarts:_

Mr. Crouch sat next to Professor Dumbledore, watching the Champions navigate the maze.

"They should be out by now," he remarked to Albus.

"Agreed," said Albus.

But the person he was worried about the most was Harry. Was Harry hurt? No, he thought. He would have sent up red sparks. He must be fine, though he wasn't able to see him, which was strange.

Suddenly, Cedric ran out of the maze, looking horrified.

"Ah, Mr. Diggory," said Professor Dumbledore. "What is it?"

"Harry's gone! He touched the cup, and disappeared!"

"Merlin's beard!" said Mr. Crouch. "That is impossible!"

Albus thought back to the night Harry had that nightmare. Lord Voldemort implied he would have Harry by the Third Task.

"Something's not right here," he said. "We must find him."

Professor McGonagall could tell Albus was worried, and for Albus Dumbledore to be worried, it was bad.

 _Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away in a field:_

"You tricked me!" Harry exclaimed. "Who turned the Tri-Wizard Cup into a portkey?"

"It doesn't matter now, does it?" Lord Voldemort snarled. "Now, Crucio!"

Lord Voldemort held Harry under the curse for 30 seconds as he watched Harry twist and scream in pain but the ropes continued holding him upright. As he lifted the curse, he also released the ropes causing Harry to drop heavily into the dirt. Quickly shaking his wand out of his sleeve, Harry found the energy to pop up to his feet.

"Expelliarmus!" Harry shouted at the same time Voldemort shouted the killing curse. The curses hit each other before the disarming charm won out and sent Voldemort's wand flying.

"Dumbledore taught you well, didn't he?" Voldemort asked. "Oh wait, of course he did! You're his pet! And tonight, you will not be going back there. You'll never see the old fool again!"

"Don't talk about Albus like that!" Harry snarled. "You can't fool him! He'll find me, and I won't stop fighting!"

In a bright flash of light, Fawkes appeared next to Harry. Harry wasted no time in using the distraction caused by the phoenix to summon the cup, and grasp the tail of the phoenix. In another flash, the field with its angry dark lord vanished and Hogwarts materialized. Albus immediately pulled him into a hug, phoenix and all.

"My child, I was so worried, what happened?" He said softly.

"Voldemort's back," Harry said shakily, the arm not holding onto the phoenix, clinging to Albus.

A few nearby members of the crowd heard his words, spreading the news rapidly through the stands. .

"No way! That is impossible!" said Professor McGonagall.

"The Tri-Wizard Cup was a portkey," Harry said. "It took me to Voldemort and Pettigrew."

"There must be a traitor here then," said Karkaroff. "There's only one way that cup could have been transformed into a portkey, and that means someone has betrayed us!"

Albus, still hugging Harry tightly to his chest, said, "It must have been the person who put the cup there in the first place."

"Albus, you don't mean..." said Professor McGonagall.

"Yes Professor McGonagall," said Albus. "I will be having a word with Professor Moody immediately. Please watch over Harry and inform the other staff members that I wish to meet with them in my office once the students are all safely in their common rooms."

Rita Skeeter appeared in the spot Albus vacated.

"What are you doing here Ms. Skeeter?" Professor McGonagall asked coldly.

"Ah, I just want to question Mr. Potter," she said. "Come along." She grabbed Harry's arm, and pulled him towards the castle before Professor McGonagall could react.

"Harry," she said once they were inside. "Let's talk in..."

"My office," said a rough voice. It was Professor Moody.

"Great idea Professor Moody!" said Skeeter. She pulled Harry with her as she followed Professor Moody. Once seated in the office with the door closed, she began her interview.

"So, Mr. Potter," she said. "You said that You-Know-Who is back. Where did you get that silly idea?"

"Silence silly woman!" said Professor Moody. "Potter, how did you survive the Dark Lord?"

"Fawkes saved me," Harry said.

"A lucky break!" said Professor Moody. "Now, Rita, how would you feel if I killed Mr. Potter?"

Skeeter looked alarmed. "What? Don't kill him! If you kill him, he won't be able to save our world!"

Professor Moody took out his wand and pointed it at Rita. "Stupefy!" She dropped to the ground, stunned. He turned to back Harry, but before he could do anything, the door banged open.

"Stupefy!" Professor Dumbledore shouted, stunning Moody. "Minerva, get Rita Skeeter out of here. Severus, I need Veritaserum."

Professor McGonagall took Skeeter out of the room, glaring at her the whole time. Professor Snape fished a vial from one of his inner pockets, holding it out to the Headmaster. Before taking the vial, Professor Dumbledore turned to Harry.

"Harry, my boy, what did he say to you?"

Harry explained to him what was said, and immediately, Professor Dumbledore walked over to a drawer and pulled it open. There, in what looked like a small closet, lay another Professor Moody.

"Polyjuice?" Harry asked.

"Yes," said Professor Dumbledore. "The Moody on the ground right now is an imposter. We shall find out his identity as soon as I administer this potion."

He finally took the vial from Professor Snape, forced open the imposter's mouth, and dripped three drops onto his tongue. Before he could reverse the stunning spell, the door burst open again, this time admitting Sirius, Madam Pomfrey, Madam Hooch, and the heads of all the houses. In front of them, the fake Moody shifted back into his real form, Barty Crouch Jr.

Despite the shock, Madam Pomfrey immediately began scanning Harry for injuries.

"Severus, please bring Mr. Crouch here and fetch a couple aurors," said Professor Dumbledore.

Professor Snape nodded and left the room. Five minutes later, he returned with Mr. Crouch and two aurors. Mr. Crouch paled as he recognized his unconscious son, restrained to a chair.

"No! My son!" He yelled as Albus incanted the reversal of the stunning spell, which caused Barty Crouch Jr. to swallow the potion as he woke.

"Name?" Questioned Professor Dumbledore.

"Bartemius Crouch Jr."

"How did you get out of Azkaban?" Albus asked.

"My mother and I switched places. She took polyjuice and pretended to be me, dying in prison. I took polyjuice and my father smuggled me home."

Mr. Crouch Sr. paled even more, eying the aurors standing on either side of the door, blocking the exit. Albus glanced at him briefly before re-focusing on the man he was questioning.

"Why did you pretend to be Alastor Moody?" Albus asked.

"On the Dark Lord's orders. His goal was to get Harry Potter before the end of the year. So I pretended to be Moody so I could enter him into the Tri-Wizard Tournament and turn the cup into a portkey."

Mr. Crouch and all the staff looked horrified and angry at the same time.

Albus stunned Crouch again and turned to the gathered teachers and aurors.

Addressing the waiting aurors, "Gentlemen, please escort both Barty Crouch Jr. and Barty Crouch Sr. to the Ministry for detainment and questioning."

"Albus, I didn't know he would do this if he was freed. He swore to change his ways. You must understand, it was the last wish of my dying wife for him to be free," Mr. Crouch said. "If I'd known that he would try murdering someone, I would have left him there no matter what."

"I understand Barty," said Albus. "But you will need to explain your actions to those in charge of the Ministry and likely suffer the consequences."

Mr. Crouch nodded and allowed an auror to escort him out of the room behind the other auror who was floating his son who was restrained to a stretcher.

Madam Pomfrey finished healing Harry and instructed him to take a dose of Dreamless Sleep potion and stay with Albus overnight to make sure he was fine.

4


	43. Dolores Umbridge

**Chapter 43: Dolores Umbridge**

 _Three Uneventful Months Later_

Cornelius Fudge sat at his desk, a letter from Albus Dumbledore in his hands. He was shocked. Lord Voldemort was not dead but alive once more. He knew he must spread the word but was not sure how to do so with causing mass panic. Right as he decided to tell the Ministry department heads first, someone knocked on his door. Perhaps he could practice on whoever was at his door.

"Come in," he called. The door opened to reveal one of his favorite Ministry workers.

"Good morning Minister," said Dolores Umbridge. "How are you this morning?"

"I'm well, Dolores. However, I have received some terrible news from Albus Dumbledore."

Dolores' smile faded. "What is it Minister?" she asked.

"You-Know-Who has returned to power."

Umbridge scowled. "That's rubbish," she said, "He is dead!"

"I'm afraid it's true Dolores."

But Dolores Umbridge was not convinced. She did not want to believe You Know Who could possibly return to power. But she pushed it out of her mind for the time being.

"I was thinking," she said. "Since Hogwarts needs yet another Defense Against The Dark Arts professor, I would like to volunteer," She smiled widely at Fudge. "But Albus Dumbledore will not accept my application. Will you help me, Minister?"

"Of course Dolores," said Fudge. "I can't see why Albus Dumbledore thinks he can be picky when few will even consider the position. You are a fabulous Undersecretary."

"Thank you!" she exclaimed.

 _Meanwhile, at Hogwarts:_

Harry was sitting with Albus, laughing about the childhood stories Albus was telling him when the door opened to reveal a short woman wearing pink from head to toe. She entered and closed the door.

"Good morning Dolores," said Albus.

"Good morning Headmaster," she said. "The Minister cleared me to be the new DADA professor. Here is a letter to prove it."

Albus did not look impressed by this news, but took the letter and read it.

"As I seem to have no say in the matter, let us run through some basic teaching guidelines. If a student is in trouble, you will either take points, give detention, or both; punishments shall never cause lasting harm or pain. You will teach all levels of DADA, no exceptions. You must be present at all meals in the Great Hall unless you obtain prior approval. "

Umbridge smiled at him. "Fine," she said sweetly. "Where is my office?"

"On the fourth floor, adjacent to the defense classroom. You will also access your living quarters through a side door in your office," said Albus.

As she turned to exit the office, she took notice of the second occupant. "And who's this?" she asked.

"Hi," Harry said. "I'm Harry Potter." He caught Albus' eye and knew he shouldn't have said anything. He noted to be careful with this woman.

"Hello Mr. Potter!" she exclaimed. "I'm your new Defense Against The Dark Arts professor, Professor Umbridge!"

"It's nice to meet you," Harry said.

"I can't wait to have you in my class!" she said excitedly. "I will see you in class!" She smiled before leaving the room.

"Be careful with her Harry," said Albus. "She is quite power hungry."

"I'll be careful Albus," Harry said.

2


	44. The Worst Detention

**Chapter 44: The Worst Detention**

The welcoming feast came and went, and Harry did not grow to like Professor Umbridge. She interrupted Albus' speech at the feast and decided to tell them about the Ministry of Magic instead. Ron was on Harry's side about this, but Hermione was saying, "Oh, give her a chance Harry."

The next day proved Hermione wrong. Professor Umbridge closed the classroom door and walked to the front of the room, pausing right in front of her desk.

"Hem hem," she said. "Hello my dears! My name is Professor Umbridge, and I will be teaching you this year! Now, wands away!" she barked, pointing at Hermione's wand. "Away!" she snapped. Hermione obeyed. "Now," she continued. "In this class, we shall read books. After all, the Ministry thinks students should not be paired off to practice spells. That is quite dangerous! If you understand the theory of the spells, you should have no trouble using them in the far distant future."

Hermione looked alarmed and raised her hand.

"Yes Miss Granger?" Professor Umbridge asked sweetly.

"Professor," she said. "I love books, but don't we need to practice what we learn?"

Professor Umbridge shook her head. "No Miss Granger, five points from Gryffindor. In this class, you will be as safe as can be. I won't let anyone hurt you. Oh yes, and You-Know-Who has not returned. Anyone who claims otherwise is a liar." She glared at Harry. "Mr. Potter," she said. "Why did you lie about his return?"

Harry straightened up in his seat. "I didn't lie! Maybe you need to see the memory of the Third Task!"

Umbridge scowled at him. "Oh you silly little boy," she said coldly. "I don't need a memory to know the truth! Detention with me tonight in my office at 7! Don't be late!" She glared at Harry.

Harry knocked on her open office door at seven on the dot.

"Welcome Mr. Potter," she said. "Please take a seat."

Harry sat in a chair across from her, and eyed the quill in front of him.

"Tonight," she said. "You will be writing lines for me."

"With this quill," she went on. "Now, you will write, "I must not tell lies" and you will do it for as long as I say," she said. "Begin!"

Harry started writing. Suddenly, he felt a jolt of pain in his right hand. He kept writing, thinking it was a cramp in his hand. However, it got worse, and words started showing up on his hand. He gasped in pain. He looked up to see Professor Umbridge smiling at him.

"I'm going to my Head of House," Harry said suddenly, throwing the quill at Umbridge, standing up, and running out the door. He stopped at Professor McGonagall's office.

"Mr. Potter," she said. "What can I do for you?"

"He ran out of detention," said a voice from behind him.

Harry turned around to see Professor Umbridge standing there, frowning.

"And why, in the name of Merlin, did Mr. Potter have detention already?" asked Professor McGonagall.

"Because he tells lies!" said Professor Umbridge coldly. "Mr. Potter, back to my office!"

But Harry had other plans. He lifted his hand up for Professor McGonagall to see. The reaction was not pretty.

"Professor Umbridge!" she yelled. "You used a blood quill on a student! How dare you! I will be reporting this to the Headmaster!" She took out her wand and pointed it at Umbridge. "You," she said through gritted teeth. "Will have one more chance. If you fail to respect your students, you will be out of this castle before you can say Hogwarts!" She glared at Umbridge darkly before putting her wand away. Professor Umbridge looked scared. No one messes with Professor McGonagall, worse Albus Dumbledore, whom she was about to see. Professor Umbridge was not looking forward to the lecture the Headmaster would have for her.

"Yes Professor McGonagall," she said sweetly. "I'll do better." She walked back to her office quickly.

"Mr. Potter," said Professor McGonagall. "Go see Madam Pomfrey at once. If you hurry, she will be able to heal those cuts before a scar forms."

Harry nodded and hurried to the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey was beyond angry that a teacher would do this to a student, but quickly healed him.

2


	45. The DA

**Chapter 45: The DA**

Albus Dumbledore was not at all pleased with the disciplinary actions of Dolores Umbridge and he echoed Professor McGonagall's sentiment of offering her only one more chance.

Classes went normal, to Harry's opinion. Professor Umbridge hated her students, and they all hated her right back. In retaliation against Harry for reporting her discipline methods, Professor Umbridge banned Harry from Quidditch.

Harry, luckily, avoided more detentions with Professor Umbridge. Now he understood why Albus didn't like her. Minister Fudge however, refused to remove her from the school, choosing instead to defend her.

In late October, Harry was having his weekly tea with Albus when he had an idea.

"Albus?" he asked. "What would you think if I created a group called..." He swallowed. Albus waited. "Dumbledore's Army," Harry finished, praying that Albus would be amused.

Albus beamed at him. "And what, exactly, would this group do?" he asked.

"It would be a group where we could learn and practice Defense spells," Harry said.

"Fantastic my boy," Albus said proudly. "But beware, Professor Umbridge will not like your group."

"Oh, she will not know, because the DA will meet in the Room of Requirement."

"Good thinking," Albus said. "Now, you better go find some members to your group."

Harry made his way to Gryffindor Tower, but paused before entering as he heard his name shouted by what sounded like multiple people. Just to the left of the portrait stood Cho, Cedric, Ron, Hermione, and Neville.

"Hey guys," Harry said. "I have an idea."

Once he told them about the DA, Hermione at once ran to the library, calling out to Harry that she would see him at dinner. Ron patted Harry on the back and said, "Of course I'll join!"

"Totally," said Cedric.

Cho and Neville nodded in agreement.

"Then let's meet tonight," Harry said.

"Hem hem," said a voice from behind him. He spun around to see Professor Umbridge standing there.

"Mr. Potter," she said. "What do you mean you're going to meet tonight?" she asked.

"We're getting together to work on homework. Not that it is any of your business," Harry snapped.

She glared at him. "It is too my business, Mr. Potter," she said angrily. "I'm one of the most effective teachers here!"

"Actually," said Ron. "You're the most ineffective teacher at this school. You make Professor Snape look nice and helpful."

She grabbed Ron by the shoulders, and shook him.

"How dare you talk to me like that!" she shouted.

Harry pulled his wand out of his sleeve, pointing it at Professor Umbridge's stomach.

"Professor," he said lightly. "Did you know that one of the rules at this school is to never put your hands on students in anger?"

"Forget the rules," she said. "I will become Headmistress before the end of the year, and I will change all the rules! Get back to your common rooms and I better not catch any of you out after curfew!"

2


	46. The DA Meeting

Disclaimer: Characters still belong to JKR.

 **Chapter 46: The DA Meeting**

That night, the group met in the Room of Requirement for the first time. Harry stood in front of the assembled students, with Ron and Hermione on either side of him. Harry cleared his throat, causing the group to fall silent.

"Welcome! I had this idea to create a DADA study group where we will learn how to defend others and ourselves. I'd like to call this group, Dumbledore's Army."

Cho raised her hand.

"Yes Cho?" Hermione asked.

"Are we doing this because Professor Umbridge won't teach us?" she asked.

"Yes," said Hermione.

"But Umbridge won't like it," said Neville.

"Don't worry," Harry said. "She can't find us here unless someone from this group shows her."

"Now," said Hermione, smiling brightly. "The rules are simple. We are here to learn not to settle disagreements or use magic with the intent to hurt each other. We will meet here on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 7pm. Do not be late, as our time is limited and we will start right at seven."

Suddenly, an image appeared in Harry's mind of Dobby popping into the room, telling Harry that Umbridge knew about their group. Harry shook the image out of his mind and said, "Guys, we have to be very careful about who we tell about this group. We don't want Umbridge finding out."

Suddenly, another image popped into his mind, this time showing Cho's friend Marietta telling Professor Umbridge about the DA. He blinked away the image.

"We won't share the information around any teachers," intoned all the students, except one.

"Marietta?" Ron asked. "Do you promise not to tell Umbridge?"

Marietta did not respond as she shot out the door.

"Where did she go?" Ron asked blankly.

"Don't know," Harry said. "But I have a bad feeling."

With introducing the aims of the group out of the way, Harry got the students paired off to start practicing spells. Ten minutes later, the door opened, revealing the toad-faced Professor Umbridge.

"Hem hem," she said. "What are you working on Mr. Potter?"

"It's none of your business," Harry said.

"I told you before, and I'll tell you again," Umbridge said coldly. "I have the right to know what's going on in this school! This young lady," she pointed to Marietta, "Has kindly told me about this group. It's a silly idea if you ask me. Follow me Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, and Miss Granger. The rest of you should return to your common rooms."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione followed Umbridge to the headmaster's office.

"Ah, Professor Umbridge," Professor Dumbledore said. "What can I do for you this evening?"

"I was informed that Mr. Potter and his friends started a club," Umbridge said.

"Ah, but that is not breaking the rules," Albus said. "So why are you so worried?"

"It's against the rules!" Umbridge shouted. "They shouldn't be practicing silly spells!"

"It's not silly," said a voice from the corner. It was Minister Fudge.

"Minister!" said Umbridge. "How nice it is to see you!"

"Dolores," said Fudge. "I have been hearing all sorts of rumors that you are hateful towards your students."

"But Minister," said Umbridge sweetly. "I love my students! And I love teaching them! Those rumors are false!"

"No they're not," interrupted Ron.

"Silence," snapped Professor Umbridge.

Fudge moved forward and said, "Albus, do you think she should be fired?"

"Yes," said Albus.

"Then so be it," Fudge said. "Now go pack your things and go back to the Ministry!"

Umbridge smirked and said, "Not when I'm about to step up to the front of the world, Minister."

She whipped out her wand, pointed it at Fudge and shouted, "Avada Kedavra!"

The Minister of Magic was dead before he hit the floor.

"I'm the Minister now," said Professor Umbridge. "And I am removing you," she pointed to Albus, "From this school! Effective immediately! I am Headmistress now!"

Albus stood up as the trio moved towards the door, scared. They hadn't ever seen Albus look this angry before.

"Dolores," said Albus coldly. "You will not remove me from this school. I am warning you. The Minister does not have the power to remove me from my post. Only the Board of Governors can do that, and I assure you, they won't. Now, please leave my school!" Umbridge, looking suddenly intimidated, scurried out the door.

"This is bad," said Ron. "She's the Minister of Magic now, isn't she?"

"Yes," said Albus. "Though I was able to evict her from the castle, she is still the new Minister."

"She's a Death Eater!" said Hermione. "She murdered someone! Our Minister to be exact! Why didn't you stun her or something?"

Albus sighed. "You know Miss Granger, she distracted me," he said. "I better warn Madam Bones of Dolores's behavior and see if they can have a hearing for her. I also need to inform her of the Minister's death. "

"Good idea," Harry said.

2


	47. The Awful Minister

Notes & Disclaimer: A new OC is welcomed in this chapter. Other characters of the HP universe belong to J. K. Rowling. The author is writing this for fun, there is no profit involved.

 **Chapter 47: The Awful Minister**

Dolores Umbridge sat in her new office, grinning, as she reviewed her recent achievements. She had removed some of the most reliable Ministry workers to replace them with unreliable ones, though she was unable to remove Madam Bones, because of the woman was well-liked and someone needed to be around to do work. Dolores wished she could fire the school Board of Governors but they immediately overpowered her. Dolores chose to believe people would soon see their new Minister was amazing and therefore ignored the grumblings of the population.

The Daily Prophet speculated about the circumstances that led to Umbridge holding the top office. Rita Skeeter could not figure out how to write without earning the anger of the new Minister. In response, Rita resigned, leaving the paper with a squib named Meghan Carter to pick up her slack.

Meghan Carter was a good, truthful, reporter. She stuck to the full truth, and was very fair. Also, she somehow managed to help Madam Bones rein in the new Minister.

Dolores Umbridge avoided the funeral for Cornelius Fudge. Besides the fact she killed him, she had absolutely no remorse, and no desire to watch people cry over his body. Didn't they realize it was time to move on?

Dolores was surprised at the sheer quantity of paperwork requiring her attention at all hours of the day. Consequently, she welcomed the knock at her door. She called for the person to enter, placing her paperwork aside to speak with Remus Lupin about his application to teach at Hogwarts.

"Good morning Mr. Lupin," said Umbridge sweetly. "Do sit down."

Remus Lupin sat down nervously, worrying about the outcome of the meeting.

"So," said Umbridge. "I hear you are interested in the Defense Against The Dark Arts position at Hogwarts?" One of her new rules was the Minister had to approve of all new hires.

"Yes Minister," Lupin said.

"Well, you can't teach due to being a filthy, half-breed," she said coldly. "I simply cannot understand why you thought you had a chance after what happened last time."

"Please Minister, I know I'm a werewolf, but I won't hurt anyone."

"And how can you be so sure of that?" Umbridge snarled.

"Because I take the Wolfsbane Potion and lock myself away during every full moon," Lupin said, noting that this conversation was not going well.

"Oh, but hiding in that shack won't do at all, you could hurt anyone who found you, without any memory of the incident," she said.

"But they know when I'm there," Lupin said. "And they don't come looking for me. Plus, I will allow each one to help set up protective wards."

Dolores Umbridge hated losing and currently she was losing control of this meeting.

"Well," she said in a huff. "If you think that you're so reliable, then fine. But if you make one mistake," she pointed her finger in his face, "You will be out of there before you..."

"Only Albus Dumbledore can fire me," said Lupin, cutting off her tirade.

Umbridge realized immediately that he was right.

"Well," she said sweetly. "I'll change that! The Minister should have the right to fire teachers too!"

"No they shouldn't! That is too much power for one person," Lupin shouted, suddenly losing control. "You are destroying the wizarding world!"

"What am I doing wrong?" Umbridge shouted back.

"You're making our world evil!" Lupin shouted.

"I am not!" she shrieked, wand pointed at Lupin. "Now you get out of my office! You will not insult me!"

The door flew open to reveal Madam Bones and Meghan Carter.

"Minister Umbridge," said Madam Bones. "That's enough! You will follow me this minute down to a conference room where there are those wishing to speak with you."

"No!" screamed Umbridge. "You can't tell me what to do!"

Madam Bones took out her wand and pointed it at Umbridge. "You will come with me to the conference room immediately," she said sternly. "I have the power to arrest even the Minister of Magic. This is your last chance to come voluntarily under your own power."

Dolores slowly rose from her chair and followed Madam Bones out the door.

"Mr. Lupin," said Carter. "I am very sorry about this. You may leave. I doubt the Minister will be back for a while, if at all."

"Thank you Miss Carter," Lupin said with a smile.

Meghan Carter knew she had to report this to the Daily Prophet immediately. If she didn't, she could get in huge trouble. She sighed and started writing. She hated being the bearer of bad news but believed strongly the general public had a right to know. Telling half-truths was the same as lying and her niece, Rita, was the only drama-loving liar the Daily Prophet could handle.

2


	48. The Hearing

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling. No copyright infringement is intended.

 **Chapter 48: The Hearing**

Dolores Umbridge fidgeted as she sat in the conference room. Albus Dumbledore took her wand as she entered the room. The Headmaster watched her calmly; she knew he saw right through her, which gave her cause to worry more about the outcome of this hearing. Escape was not really an option as there were aurors both inside and outside of the door.

"Attention!" Madam Bones called. "We are having this hearing to examine the motives and determine the guilt and possible sentencing of Minister Dolores Umbridge."

"May I?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes Dumbledore, you may," Madam Bones said.

"While teaching students, she determined a blood quill would be an acceptable form of punishment," Dumbledore said.

Madam Bones gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. "Merlin's Beard!" she cried. "Explain yourself Minister."

Umbridge knew she was in for it now. She knew perfectly well that no matter what she said, it wouldn't get her out of this one.

"Mr. Potter was telling lies," she said. "He was saying that You-know-Who was back, and decided to have an outburst in my class. So I decided to give him detention. He got what he deserved."

"But he didn't lie," said Carter. "It is clear that he is back."

"Further," said Dumbledore. "She determined practical application was not necessary, focusing instead on theory."

"Minister!" said Madam Bones. "Is that what you call Defense Against The Dark Arts?"

"Well we don't need anyone getting hurt, now do we?" said Umbridge. "As long as they learn the theory, they can use those spells in the future."

"And," said Dumbledore. "She laid her hands on a student. She was angry at Mr. Ronald Weasley, and decided to shake him."

"No way!" said Martina Baker, the head of the Auror Office. She was rather fond of the minister, but this was going too far.

"Explain yourself," demanded Madam Bones, glaring at Umbridge.

"I was merely angry," said Umbridge sweetly. "No harm was done, so it's not a big deal."

"Additionally, she decided to send three students to my office because they created a study group to practice defensive spells. The group had my permission to form, leaving her no ground to stand on. In response to former Minister Fudge ordering her to return to the Ministry at once, she used the killing curse to end his life."

Madam Bones was furious.

"That's all I need to know," she said coolly. "Minister Umbridge, this panel finds you guilty of murder and assault. Use of an Unforgivable Curse earns you life in prison. Aurors, take Ms. Umbridge to Azkaban immediately."

"No!" cried Umbridge. "Really, I don't think that'll be necessary. Who will be the new Minister?"

"Senior Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt," said Madam Bones.

After the hearing, Albus made his way back to Hogwarts and called for Harry to come to his office.

"Hi Albus," Harry said.

"Harry, I am proud to say that Dolores Umbridge is in Azkaban," said Albus cheerfully.

Harry's face lit up. "Really?" he asked, getting excited.

"Yes," said Albus. "And you remember Auror Kingsley? He's the new Minister."

Harry clapped his hands and cheered, "Yea! She's gone!"

Albus beamed at him. "I suggest you go tell your friends," he said. Harry nodded and skipped out of the room, the widest smile on his face that Albus has seen in awhile.

2


	49. Where Did He Go?

Author's note: Yes, this is going to throw things off quite a bit. The next couple of chapters are not going to go that well for Harry. There will be switching from one world to the other, to see everyone's point of views. If you have any questions, you can PM me or review!

 **Chapter 49: Where Did He Go?**

Harry sat at his desk, working on his summer assignments as he waited for Albus to return from the Ministry. He needed help with his essay for potions, but was too lazy to go find Professor Snape. It suddenly occurred to him that he could use the Floo Network. He disliked Floo travel but it was quicker and took less effort than walking.

"Professor Snape's office," Harry tried to say, but ended up choking while saying it. Suddenly, he was spinning. He landed in the staffroom. He looked around, seeing all the staff there, including Albus. Wait, Harry thought. Albus was supposed to be at the Ministry!

"Mr. Potter," said Professor McGonagall. "What are you doing here? It's the summer holidays."

Harry stared at her. This was odd, he thought. She knows that I stay here during the summer holidays.

"Well Mr. Potter?" Snape sneered.

"I-I was on my way to see you, sir," Harry said to Snape.

Snape glared at him. "Why aren't you at your aunt and uncle's?" he snarled.

Harry gasped. How could Snape think that he was at the Dursleys? He hadn't been there since he was a baby!

"I don't know what you're talking about Professor," Harry said calmly.

Professor Dumbledore gave him a searching look. "Harry, my dear boy, why don't we meet in my office?" he asked.

"Alright," Harry said, leaving the room and headed in the direction of the Headmaster's office. When he got to the stone gargoyle, he said, "Acid pop!"

"How do you know the password already?" a voice said from behind him. Harry turned around to see Albus striding towards him.

"Because you always tell me the passwords!" Harry said, starting to get irritated. Why were the teachers talking as if he didn't live there?

They entered the office and sat down.

"Harry, what's going on?" Albus asked. "I think there's a misunderstanding going on here. Did something happen at your aunt's?"

Suddenly, Harry lost it. "Are you crazy?" he yelled. "You know I don't live there! Everyone knows that!"

Albus leaned forward and said, "Harry, do you mind if I looked into your mind to see what's going on?"

Harry was stunned. Albus had never asked to look into his mind before! He had always told Harry to tell him what was going on.

"Ok," Harry said, starting to get worried.

Albus started looking through Harry's mind, and was shocked with what he found.

Once he left his mind, Albus said, "Harry, it seems you have not travelled to Professor Snape's office, but to a different universe. Mr. Diggory is dead, and so is Sirius Black."

Harry gasped. "What?" he asked. "Sirius? Cedric?"

"Yes," said Albus. "And in this world, I just told you about the prophecy two months ago."

Harry suddenly realized something.

"Did Marietta tell Professor Umbridge about the DA?" he asked.

"Yes, indeed," said Albus. "And you were brought up here and I had to leave for a while because Minister Fudge thought that Lord Voldemort was not back. He wanted you expelled, and me to step down from being headmaster."

Harry's eyes Widened. "Did Cedric take the Cup with me?" he asked, dreading the answer.

"Yes," said Albus. "It is how he died."

"I've been having visions lately about things like this happening," Harry said. "Is this the world where all that is in my visions, happen?"

"Ah, those visions you are experiencing are warnings of what would happen if you ignored them," said Albus.

"Oh," Harry said. "Will I get them forever?"

"Yes," said Albus. "Now Harry, I don't know how to get you back to your world at this time, but I'm afraid that until we figure out how to get you back to your world, you'll be staying here."

"With you?" Harry asked.

"Yes," said Albus. "However, while I'm busy, you will be staying with Professor Snape."

"But you always let me stay alone whenever you were busy!" Harry said. "You trust me!"

"Ah, but Harry, my dear boy, you must be with someone, to be protected from Lord Voldemort," Albus said.

Harry didn't like this at all. The last thing he wanted to do was spend time with Snape during the day. He wished that he could go back to his world.

"Now, listen to me Harry," said Albus. "Since your other self is still here in this world, you will need to keep yourself hidden."

"Fine," Harry snapped. "I'll do whatever you say. Goodnight." He bounded to what was his room but was merely a guest room here, and shut the door. He flopped onto the bed and cried.

2


	50. Home Again

Author's note: Hey guys, just so you know, I have decided to have Harry go home in this chapter so that we can get started on 6th year. I have a lot of ideas for that year! And as always, PM (frankiehusbands1) or review if you have any questions or comments!

 **Chapter 50: Home Again**

In the original world, Albus came back from the Ministry to find Harry gone. He called for Professors McGonagall and Snape, but they had not seen Harry. Albus was starting to get worried. Harry never just left without telling someone.

"We must search the grounds from top to bottom," he said. "If he isn't in the castle, then he must be outside."

Their search was fruitless. Harry was nowhere to be found.

"Where could he have gone?" Professor McGonagall asked with concern.

"I don't know, but I must contact Kingsley," Albus said, worry showing on his face.

 _Meanwhile, in the alternative universe:_

Harry cried until he heard a knock at his door. He mumbled, "Come in."

Albus walked in, and said, "Harry, it's time for dinner."

"Oh, sorry," Harry said, standing up to leave the room.

"Harry, I didn't mean to upset you but..." Albus started.

"But you don't understand!" Harry said. "I don't like Snape, and he doesn't like me!"

"Professor Snape, Harry," Albus corrected him. "But you must understand that Professor Snape is, in fact, on our side, and he's there to protect you."

"But he's always mean to me!" Harry said.

"Really? When I was looking at your memories, there was a time where Professor Snape was gentle with you when you found out that you were a parselmouth. Then there was the time where he comforted you after an encounter with a dementor."

"But that was in my world!" Harry said. "I doubt he would want to be nice to me now!"

"Actually Harry, he does care. In fact, when you had a vision in this world, that Sirius was captured, Professor Snape knew immediately that it was a false vision, and alerted the Order Of the Phoenix."

"What?" Harry asked.

"Yes," said Albus. "Now, its time for dinner, then I think it would be good for us to go into Hogsmeade to get you some clothes. Because you don't have any clothes with you, do you?"

"No sir," Harry said, just realizing that Albus was right, he hadn't brought any of his belongings. "And sir, I have homework that I need help with."

"Is it for Potions?" Albus asked.

"Yes," Harry said.

"Well, lucky for you, I'm going to the Ministry tomorrow for a meeting," Albus said. "So you can have Professor Snape help you."

Harry scowled. He really didn't want to spend time with the greasy git.

"Ok," he said, trying to stay calm.

The next morning after breakfast, Harry made his way to the dungeons to meet with Professor Snape.

"Sit down," demanded Snape the moment Harry walked into his office. "This is not going to be a fun hour. You will sit here while I do my work!"

"Professor, I need help with my Potions homework," Harry said nervously.

Snape glared at him. "It's not my job to help you with your homework during the summer," he snapped.

"But sir, Albus said you would help me!"

"You must address the Headmaster properly?" Snape snarled. "He's Professor Dumbledore, not Albus!"

"I'm sorry, but in my world, he says that I can call him Albus," Harry snapped.

Snape growled. "Potter, you won't snap at me!" he snarled.

"You know what?" Harry asked. "In my world, you were nicer to me! But in this world, you're a greasy git!"

Snape was fuming now. "How dare you?" he shouted. "I am no different!"

"How do you know? Albus said you are on our side, so why can't you show it?"

Snape growled again. "That is not up to discussion," he said.

"Can you help me with my homework please?" Harry asked politely.

"No," said Snape. "You will instead, help me research how to return you to your proper location so I don't have to deal with you!"

Harry felt tears run down his cheeks. That statement hurt. In looking at the child, Snape realized he'd gone too far.

"Potter," he said, his voice softer. "I'm sorry, I'm frustrated. This war is stressful."

"But that doesn't mean you have to be so rude!" Harry said through his tears.

Snape nodded. "I won't help you with your homework, but I will help you and Albus look for a way to get you home."

"Thank you," Harry said.

"Now, get your homework out," said Snape.

Two hours later, it was time to leave to go back to Albus' office.

"I'll try the Floo Network again," Harry said. "Maybe I can do it this time."

Snape snorted. "Fine, but don't mess up again," he said.

Harry stepped into the fire and once again choked. Snape snorted, but Harry was already gone.

He landed in Albus' quarters. He heard a sound and he saw Albus running towards him.

"Harry!" he exclaimed. "Harry, my dear child, you're back! Where have you been?"

With that greeting, Harry knew he'd made it back home. He threw his arms around Albus and they hugged for the longest time.

"I think we should have some tea and talk," said Albus.

After Harry explained what happened in the alternative universe, Albus said, "Harry, I think it would be best if your owl sent a letter to myself in the alternative universe saying that you're back in our world."

"Wait, Hedwig can send a letter to that world?" Harry asked.

"Well, was she with you when you were there?" Albus asked.

"Yes," Harry said, realizing that Albus was right. He wrote a letter that said:

Dear Professor Dumbledore,

Thanks for everything. I'm sorry I got mad at you for sending me to spend time with Professor Snape. We argued at first, but got along ok for the next couple of hours.

I am back in my world. I guess when I meant to take the quickest way back to your office, I made the same mistake as I did originally in trying to go to Professor Snape's office and it landed me back home. I guess I better start walking more, as I don't seem to be able to properly use the Floo Network in the castle. Thanks again, for everything.

Yours,

Harry Potter

"That's very good my boy," said Albus with a smile. "I think it will do just fine."

Hedwig took the letter and disappeared through the Floo. Harry smiled to himself. He was home.

3


	51. Potions With Dumbledore

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to the awesome JK Rowling. No copyright infringement is intended.

 **Chapter 51: Potions With Dumbledore**

Harry wrote letters to Ron and Hermione about his world-hopping encounter with the Floo Network. Ron wrote back in obvious wonder at his friend's adventures, while Hermione included a long lecture about how to properly use the Floo. She also mentioned none of her research could explain his botched travel and so she looked forward to diving into the library. The rest of the summer passed quickly, before he knew it, Harry sat at the Gryffindor table on September 1st, waiting for his friends and the start of the Welcome Feast.

"Harry!" said a voice. Harry looked up to see Ron racing towards him, pulling Hermione along rather forcefully in his excitement.

"Harry, how did you do with your O.W.L.S?" she asked immediately after they sat down.

"I did ok, but not the best," Harry said sadly. "I got an O in DADA, Potions, and Transfiguration, but everything else was not very good."

"That's not too bad though," Hermione said. "You could have done a lot worse."

"I only got an O for Transfiguration," Ron said.

Professor Dumbledore made his usual announcements and the food appeared, prompting all the students to begin catching up with their friends. But just as Harry was digging into his food, the Great Hall doors opened with a bang and Severus Snape staggered in, covered in blood. Hermione gasped and covered her mouth.

"Professor Snape!" exclaimed Madam Pomfrey, "What happened?"

"It's not up to discussion Poppy," said Snape with a scowl. "Just heal me already so I can get on with my life."

Madam Pomfrey left the Great Hall with a clearly injured, and quite grouchy, Severus Snape. Professor Dumbledore waved his wand to clean the floor as they left.

"What was that all about?" Ron asked.

"Something must have happened to him," Harry said.

"Let's go find out," said Hermione.

The trio left the Great Hall quickly, only to be stopped by Professor McGonagall.

"Where do you three think you're going?" she asked sternly.

"What happened to Snape?" Ron asked.

"That is not up to discussion, Mr. Weasley," said Professor McGonagall. "He'll tell you if he wants to but don't even think about going to the hospital wing tonight."

"But..." said Harry.

"No, Mr. Potter," said Professor McGonagall sternly. "Go back to your table and enjoy the feast. Let the staff worry about Professor Snape."

 _Meanwhile, in the hospital wing:_

"Severus Snape, what happened to you?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"The Dark Lord discovered I am a spy. I was lucky to escape," Snape said.

"Oh dear," said Madam Pomfrey. "Why is there so much blood?"

"The Dark Lord personally tortured me, to set an example for any others who might consider turning against him. He used the Cruciatus and many cutting curses," said Snape.

"I'm afraid you will not be fit to teach in the morning. Albus will need to arrange coverage."

"The Dark Lord is willing to offer me another chance to turn my back on Dumbledore and return full time to his side. Either way, I'm signing my own death warrant."

Madam Pomfrey gasped. "Rest," she said, recovering from her shock. "I'm going to call Albus, there must be a solution." She left to retrieve the Headmaster, quietly, from the Welcome Feast.

The next morning, Harry and Hermione had Potions as their first N.E.W.T-level lesson. The moment they walked in, Harry noticed a grave Professor Dumbledore standing at the front of the classroom.

"Headmaster!" said Hermione. "Where's Professor Snape? Is he ok?"

"Yes Miss Granger, he will be fine, but will not be teaching for a few days," said Professor Dumbledore. "I would have sent a friend of mine to teach, but since it's just for a short time, I decided to do it myself."

"But what happened to him?" Harry asked, hoping that Albus would at least answer this question.

"That is not for me to tell you," said Professor Dumbledore. "He'll tell you when he's ready. Now, open your books to page 12."

As the class went on, Harry noticed that even though Snape wasn't there, Albus was a very stern professor when it came to potions. He started to put together the pieces. And finally, he figured it out.

Professor Snape was stern with them for a reason. Because Potions was a very serious subject, and if even a little mess-up, things could go very wrong.

Somehow, Neville ended up in the NEWT' class, and they all knew that he feared Potions. Hermione sat with him, helping him stay calm. But it was not Neville's day. Within ten minutes of starting their potion, his turned pink instead of blue. Hermione tried helping him fix his error but the volatile potion exploded. Neville yelped as Hermione screamed. Harry sat there, not shocked by the explosion.

The Slytherins laughed while Harry looked worriedly at Neville. Professor Dumbledore hurried over to their table and said, "Mr. Longbottom, please make your way to the hospital wing immediately. Also, that will be 5 points from Gryffindor."

"But sir, he tried!" said Hermione. "He really tried!"

"I understand Miss Granger, but you know as well as I do that in Potions, any mistakes will end up badly in the end, no matter what. That's why you need to be careful."

"But..." Harry started, but Albus gave him a stern look.

The rest of the lesson went well, and in the end, Hermione and Harry made their potions correctly, receiving 10 points for their efforts.

2


	52. Horcruxes

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and write purely for my own enjoyment.

 **Chapter 52: Horcruxes**

Harry was sitting in Albus' office, thinking through what Albus told him about how Professor Snape was injured. He was astonished to learn the snarky professor was a spy! Yet he was worried about his own chances against Voldemort if someone powerful like Snape could be tortured and injured so easily. The man, despite his outward dislike of Harry, understood the boy needed to know.

"Harry?" Albus asked softly.

"Yes sir?" Harry asked.

"I think I know how you can defeat Voldemort," said Albus.

Harry's eyes widened. "Really?" he asked.

"Yes," said Albus. "Do you remember the diary from your second year that allowed the Chamber of Secrets to be opened?"

"Yes, and I still don't understand you kept it, it was covered in ink and water," Harry said.

"Because, my boy," said Albus. "I was trying to find out more about it, and I finally figured it out. The diary contained a fragment of Voldemort's soul. By murdering a person, he broke a part of his soul away from the rest and encased it in an inanimate object. That is a very dark process and creates one of the darkest artifacts know to wizard kind, a horcrux."

"I've never heard of horcruxes," Harry said.

"It is not discussed in school and I removed all books that speak of it from the restricted section. Due to the nature of the dark arts, I determined it to be a subject not suitable for students. I removed the books from the library long before I took over as headmaster. I did not destroy the books, I merely store them among my book collection, protected by a set of containment wards."

"So Voldemort somehow learned of the creation process and made one?" Harry asked.

"Yes, though I believe he made seven in total, not just one, and encased each fragment in a different object, hiding them in different places. The diary was one," said Albus.

"Why would anyone do that to themselves?" Harry asked.

"Lord Voldemort, in the way of many dark lords and evil wizards, strives for immortality and a chance to rule the world. My boy, when you took the basilisk's fang and stabbed the diary, the venom destroyed the trapped soul," said Albus. "This is why Riddle disappeared and never fully solidified."

"So now there are only six?" Harry asked.

"Yes, indeed," said Albus. "But I might have found another one. It's a ring."

Harry was silent. "So, how can we destroy it?" Harry asked.

"With the sword of Gryffindor, for goblin-made blades absorb compounds that increase their strength, like the venom from a basilisk," said Albus, beaming at Harry. "Shall I show you?"

"Yes please," Harry said.

Albus removed a chunky gold ring from the inside of a drawer and set it on his desk. Then he grabbed the sword of Gryffindor and stabbed the ring. Immediately, there was a piercing scream, then silence.

"That, right there, proves it was a horcrux," said Albus.

"So now there are five?" Harry asked. "What type of objects would he use? Where did that ring come from?"

"Yes my boy," said Albus proudly. "And I'd like to find the others sooner than later. If we want to save Professor Snape and defeat Lord Voldemort, then we must take action. I believe Voldemort selected items of importance, not everyday trinkets."

"I'll help you," Harry said. "You can count on me."

2


	53. The Order Meeting

Disclaimer: Nothing has changed in the past 52 chapters. I still don't own Harry Potter, and I never will.

 **Chapter 53: The Order Meeting**

Harry wasn't allowed to tell anyone, not even Ron and Hermione, about the horcruxes. Harry was once again in Albus' office, but this time, it wasn't about horcruxes.

"Albus," he said. "If I'm going to defeat Voldemort, I need to know what's going on in the war. I want to join the Order of the Phoenix."

Albus looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well Harry," he said slowly. "You are a bit young but I will allow your entrance but you must understand you will not be allowed to share what you learn with those not in the Order."

"I promise," Harry said with a smile.

"Indeed," said Albus. "Tomorrow there's an Order meeting at Sirius' house."

"Oh good! I can see Sirius!" Harry said with excitement.

The next morning, Harry found himself sitting at the large table at Grimmauld Place with Albus, Professor McGonagall, Moody, Shacklebolt, and Tonks. Conversation was minimal as they awaited the arrivals of the other members.

"Where's Sirius?" Harry asked Albus.

"Oh, he had to go talk to Mrs. Figg," Albus said with a smile. "Do you remember Mrs. Figg Harry?"

"Kind of," Harry said. "But I only remember her taking me to and from school each day before I..."

"Harry!" said a voice. It was Mrs. Figg. She made a beeline for Harry and gathered him into a tight hug.

"Are you in the Order, Mrs. Figg?" Harry asked.

"I'm going to be," said Mrs. Figg. "After all, they need someone in the muggle world telling the Order what's going on." Seeing Harry's look of confusion, she added, "I'm a squib, Harry."

"Harry!" said Sirius along with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley at the same time, as they rushed forward to hug him.

"Give him some space," ordered Albus.

Everyone moved away from Harry and took their seats.

"Albus, why is Harry with us?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"He's joining the Order," said Albus.

"No! He's just a child!" cried Mrs. Weasley.

"Hush Molly," Snape snarled. "It is not our decision and he's supposedly the key to defeating the Dark Lord."

"But," said Mrs. Weasley. "He's only sixteen!"

"Mrs. Weasley," said Harry. "I want to defeat Voldemort. If I want to do that, I have to know what's going on in this war."

"Harry dear," she said. "You are too young!"

"No I'm not," Harry said firmly. "Please Mrs. Weasley, you have to understand."

"Fine!" she snapped. She looked angry as she took her seat.

"Now," said Albus. "I call this meeting to order. Let me introduce Harry to the Order of the Phoenix!"

Most people clapped, except Mrs. Weasley and Snape.

"Now, let's get down to business," said Albus with a smile. "Who has any news?"

"We hear that You-Know-Who is going to attack a Muggle town," said Snape.

"When?" Professor McGonagall asked sternly.

"Anytime now," said Snape with a scowl.

"Do you know which town, Severus?" asked Mr. Weasley.

"Little Whinging," said Snape.

Harry couldn't help the smile that showed on his face.

"Why are you smiling, Potter?" Moody asked. "This is serious!"

"The Dursleys live in Little Whinging," Harry said. "I could not care less about what happens to them."

"The Order aims to protect all innocents from attack, including those who we may not like, " said Albus, sternly eyeing his charge.

"Sorry," Harry said. "I've just always hated them."

"I get it," said Mr. Weasley. "But Albus is right. We have to work together on this. So Severus, do you know any more information on this matter?"

"No," said Snape. "That is all."

"Very well," said Albus. "Then we will stay in contact and meet again in a few days unless someone turns up new information."

Everyone agreed and stood to leave. Mrs. Weasley came over to Harry and gave him a motherly hug.

"I'm sorry Harry," she said. "I didn't mean to yell at you like that. I don't agree with you being in the Order, but it's your choice. Just know that if you were my son, I wouldn't allow it."

"Thanks Mrs. Weasley," Harry said with a wide smile on his face.

2


	54. Attack on Little Whinging

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling; no copyright infringement is intended.

 **Chapter 54: Attack on Little Whinging**

"Night Ron!" Harry called behind him as he headed up to the boys dormitories. He put on his pajamas; and settled into bed. He fell asleep rather quickly, only to find himself in a nightmare.

"It's time," said Voldemort. "We will go to Little Whinging tonight, and attack all the muggles we can."

The Death Eaters laughed evilly. The group apparated to the outskirts of Little Whinging before following their leader into a neighborhood filled with identical houses. Voldemort stopped in front of one house and drew the attention of his followers to 4 Privet Drive.

"This is where Harry Potter's muggle relatives live, his last living family," he hissed.

"Good," said Bellatrix. "Shall we get on with this then?"

Lucius Malfoy smiled and shot a spell at the front door, making it fly from its hinges.

"WHAT WAS THAT?" a voice roared, as a rather round man appeared at the opening.

"Ah, Vernon Dursley I presume?" asked Bellatrix in her fake kind voice. "Where's the rest of your family?"

"What do you want?" asked a thin lady from behind her husband.

"Ah, Petunia Dursley!" said Bellatrix. "What a pleasure!"

"Mum? Dad? What's going on?" a boy's voice called.

"And that must be your son, Dudley," said Bellatrix. "May we come in?"

"Who are you and why are you here?" Vernon asked.

Bellatrix laughed and shot a killing curse at Vernon then Petunia.

"There," she said. "Now let's find that other boy." Dudley came to the door and yelled, "You bloody killed my parents! Get out of here, you freaks!"

Voldemort laughed and said, "No can do, fat boy!" In a jet of green light, Dudley fell to the floor.

Harry woke with a start. His relatives were dead, killed by Bellatrix in the presence of Voldemort. He hated the Dursleys but never wished death on them. He nearly fell out of bed in his rush to leave the dormitory for the trip to the Headmaster's office.

"Potter!" called a voice, jarring him out of his thoughts.

It was Professors Snape and McGonagall, who just happened to patrolling right outside of the Fat Lady's portrait as he stumbled through it.

"Mr. Potter!" exclaimed Professor McGonagall. "It's midnight! Why are you out of bed?"

"The Death Eaters attacked Little Whinging and Bellatrix killed the Dursleys!" Harry gasped.

"How do you know?" Snape asked sharply.

"Because I had a vision!" said Harry. "I have to go see the headmaster!"

He took off at a run without even a backwards glance. The two professors hurriedly followed, making it into Albus' office just before Harry started speaking.

"Harry, what's wrong?" Albus asked.

"It happened," said Harry. "They're dead. The Dursleys."

Albus looked at Snape. "Were you there?" he asked.

"No," said Snape. "I wasn't involved. The other day, I overheard the plan but none of the details."

"I'm truly sorry you had to watch that, Harry," said Professor McGonagall.

"I'm used to it," said Harry. "Voldemort likes sharing images he believes will torment me."

Professor Snape scowled. "What a dunderhead," he snarled.

"Minerva, contact Kingsley, Tonks, Arthur, Hestia, Remus, and Amelia, if she's available, and go to Little Whinging to look around. Please find an obliviator we can trust to accompany you. We will need a cover story of the muggle law enforcement," Albus paused but in seeing Harry's eager face, added, "No Harry, you may not go with them, you are unable to use magic outside of school. Please return to gryffindor tower. I will speak with you in the morning. Thank you telling me about this vision."

"You're welcome," Harry said, leaving quickly to go back to bed. Luckily, the rest of the night was peaceful.

2


	55. Petunia's Will

**Chapter 55: Last Will and Testament of Petunia Dursley**

Harry was sitting on his bed in tower when he felt a bit of heat on his arm. He knew what that meant. The Order Of the Phoenix had what's called a phoenix mark. It was similar to the dark mark in that it was a tattoo but would only heat up, never burn or cause pain when Albus summoned the Order. He told Ron that he had to go, and he quickly went to the common room fireplace to go to Grimmauld Place.

"Harry, are you sure you can use the Floo powder?" Ron asked. "You remember what happened last time..."

"Yeah, well, I have been practicing since my trip to the alternative universe," Harry said. "I have to go Ron. Tell Hermione I'll be back later and we can work on the transfiguration essay."

He took in the serious faces of the assembled people as he stepped out of the fireplace. Mrs. Figg sat at the head of the table with a box and parchment in front of her.

"Mrs. Figg?" Harry asked.

"Harry, come sit next to me," said Mrs. Figg.

Harry took the seat to her left. Mrs. Figg looked at Albus, and Albus called the meeting to order.

"I'm truly sorry to interrupt anything you were doing before this, but I obtained the will of Vernon and Petunia Dursley. I felt you all should be present," said Albus.

Mrs. Figg cleared her throat. "I'm only going to read the part pertaining to Harry," she said briskly. "To our nephew, Harry James Potter, we leave the blanket he arrived with and a photo album from his parents. I, Petunia Dursley, leave a note to my nephew, explaining my feelings."

Mrs. Figg first handed Harry a faded blanket, which he took, feeling tears gathering in his eyes. She then passed him the photo album. As he flipped through the pages, the tears ran down his face. There were pictures of his mum and dad holding him, of Sirius and Remus playing with him, and of his dad attempting to cheer up a screaming baby by tossing teddy bears at him. The teddy bears zoomed away as the howling child flailed his arms.

"But why did she keep these things?" Harry asked. "I thought she hated me!"

Mrs. Figg handed him a piece of paper. It read:

 _Harry,_

 _I know I've never been that fond of you, and not very nice to you, and I let your Uncle Vernon do whatever he wanted to you, and I didn't help with that, but I do want you to know that I love you. Lily and I used to get along, but after she got accepted to Hogwarts, I wanted to go, and I couldn't. I was jealous Harry. From that day on, I hated even the mention of magic. I'm sorry I wasn't a very good motherly figure to you Harry, but I hope that you'll understand that it was just because jealously was getting in the way of me loving you like a son._

 _I do not know if Uncle Vernon loves, or even likes you, but just know that I do, and if I could go back and change things, I would._

 _Aunt Petunia_

By now, Harry was sobbing, catching everyone's attention. "Harry, what's wrong?" Albus asked, coming up behind his ward to offer comfort to the distraught teen.

Harry handed him the letter, and Albus smiled at him. "It seems, my dear boy, she did love you," he said quietly.

Harry nodded, not knowing what to say. The meeting went on around him for an hour or so longer but Harry was not aware of the proceedings. Harry made it back to gryffindor tower in a daze. His friends grabbed him as soon as he exited the floo, and pulled him over to a couch in the corner of the common room. Harry explained that his aunt left items for him in her Will.

"Are you kidding me?" Ron asked. "She LOVED you?"

"Yeah," Harry said

"Jealousy?" Ron asked. "What does that mean?"

"Ronald Weasley! Are you sixteen or six?" said Hermione. "Oh for Merlin's sake! It means an unhappy or angry feeling of wanting to have what someone else has!"

"Oh," Ron said, ears tinged pink. "Well then, if she wanted to be that way, then fine!"

"I think it makes sense," said Hermione.

"Me too," Harry said. "And at least I know that she loved me deep down."

2


	56. The Locket

Notes: Here's another chapter! So many updates in such a short amount of time; thank you for all the reviews, can you believe this is chapter 56? Same disclaimer applies to this chapter as it did to the previous 55 chapters.

 **Chapter 56: The Locket**

Harry wandered through Grimmauld Place after an Order meeting, lost in thoughts about horcruxes, while Ron and Hermione were in the kitchen. They were allowed to visit Grimmauld Place to see Fred and George but were not allowed near any official information. As he passed a glass cabinet, a flash of gold caught his eye. Pausing for a second look, Harry spotted a chunky locket with a large "S' on the face. He recognized it as a Slytherin heirloom. Behind him a voice called out his name. Turning, Harry saw Hermione climbing the stairs towards him.

"Harry! What are you looking at?" asked Hermione, slightly out of breath from her rush up the stairs.

"Nothing," Harry said, looking away from the locket.

"Don't lie Harry," said Hermione in her stern voice. "What is it?"

"Oh, cool!" said Ron, appearing behind Hermione and pushing his way into the room. "Is that a locket? Looks old, here, let me see what picture is inside, maybe it has pictures of Sirius as a kid." He tried opening it, but it wouldn't budge.

"This is silly," said Hermione. "Lockets are supposed to open!"

"Hermione, this is Slytherin's locket," Harry said. "Perhaps we should not be messing with it. Let's take it to Dumbledore."

Before Hermione could answer, Ron brightened up and said, "Slytherin was a parselmouth so maybe its charmed to only respond to Parseltongue!"

"Good idea Ron!" said Hermione.

Harry looked worried but spoke to the locket, "Open."

The locket burst open, and the three friends shrieked as a high, cold voice began speaking from a shadowy cloud.

"You cannot destroy me! Hmm', a mud-blood!"

Harry hurriedly forced the locket closed. He realized is horror that this locket must be a horcrux.

"What is this?" Hermione squeaked, a terrified look on her face.

"This is a very dark object," Harry said.

"What now?" Ron asked shakily.

"I have to get this to Albus," Harry said, dashing out of the drawing room and running down to the kitchen where Albus stood talking with Tonks.

"Albus!" he said. "I found a horcrux, its encased in this locket!"

Harry set the awful locket on the table and waited. One look at the locket and Albus sent Harry through the floo to get Gryffindor's sword. Ron and Hermione appeared at the kitchen's entrance just as Harry disappeared in the flames.

Within minutes, he returned with the sword, passing it to Albus. Albus stabbed the locket. There was a scream, then silence.

Hermione gasped, "What was that?"

Harry looked at Albus, who answered for him.

"I must ask the two of you not to share this information with anyone else, this includes not discussing it openly in the common room," receiving nods, he continued. "That was a horcrux which is an extremely dark object created to house a piece of soul Lord Voldemort created these objects in order to prevent his death."

"So you are destroying parts of You-Know-Who's soul?" Ron asked.

"Yes," Albus said. "Now, please head back to your common room, all three of you. Harry, I will be in touch soon."

Hermione was shaking in her eagerness to get back to Hogwarts.

"This is interesting," said Hermione. "I'll have to look up horcruxes in the library!"

"Hermione! You heard Dumbledore! Do not say that word in public! Plus, you won't find anything," Harry said. "Albus removed all the super dark books from the library."

"What?" Hermione cried. "Are you kidding me?"

"I'm not," Harry said. "Sorry Hermione."

"Can we help you find the rest of them?" Ron asked.

"I don't know," Harry said. "I will ask Albus the next time I see him. It is not up to me."

A school owl flapped into the room, bopping Ron on the head with a wing as he dropped a letter in Harry's lap before exiting out of the portrait hole. Unfolding the parchment, Harry read it then handed it to Hermione as Ron read over her shoulder.

 _Harry,_

 _Please come to my office. Bring Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger._

 _Albus_

They bolted out of the tower. Hermione opened her mouth to question further on the subject but shut it at Harry's glare.

Once safely in the Headmaster's office, Albus agreed to let Ron and Hermione help with the brainstorming in the search for the horcruxes. He refused to allow Hermione access to further reading.

"So now that the locket is destroyed, what's next?" Hermione asked.

"I'm afraid I do not know," said Albus. "I believe he made horcruxes with artifacts from both Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, so we must figure out the identities of those objects."

Hermione looked thoughtful for a moment. "What about Hufflepuff's cup?" she asked.

Albus smiled. "That could be one of them," he said slowly. "But first we must find it. I remember from a memory... I believe it is in Gringotts somewhere."

"We'll have to go there then," said Harry.

"Well, for now, let me get more info on the matter, then I'll meet with you three tomorrow," Albus said, standing up to open the door for them.

2


	57. Grangers Under Attack

**Chapter 57: Grangers Under Attack**

Harry stood facing his Quidditch teammates on the morning of their first match of the season, against Ravenclaw, with his captain's badge pinned to the front of his robes.

"Ok guys, any concerns before the match? Their team looks strong so we'll have to show them what we're made of."

"Are you done stalling yet, Harry? Let's get out there before the match starts without us!" Exclaimed an excited Katie Bell.

Harry led his team onto the pitch. They faced the other players and all mounted their brooms. At the sound of Madam Hooch's whistle, all fourteen players kicked off, shooting upwards, as she tossed the quaffle into play, freed the bludgers, and let the snitch loose. Harry kept climbing until he was just above the level of play and had a good vantage point to search for the snitch. A sudden burning in his scar was his only warning before his world went black and his mind connected with Voldemort.

 _A snake-faced man, calmly holding his wand as he inspected the couple in front of him, ruined the pleasant sitting room. "What a pair of ugly muggles. I supposed it should not be a shock you produced the mudblood bookworm," said Voldemort._

 _The woman burst into tears while the man glared at the creature speaking to them._

 _"Hermione warned us about you. She said you're evil and enjoy causing pain and chaos. She worried we might be targets but no one agreed with her," said the man fearlessly._

 _Voldemort's high, cold, laugh sent shivers down their spines. "The mudblood was right to worry. I intend to kill you today, in an effort to convince your daughter to join the winning side."_

 _"No!" said the woman. "I know Hermione! She would never go dark! She will destroy you."_

 _"Perhaps you don't know your daughter well enough then. She will watch all her friends and loved ones die until she joins my Death Eaters," said Voldemort._

 _An abrupt flourish of his wand sent two jets of green light at the doctors' Granger. The loving parents were dead before they hit the floor. Voldemort erased all signs of his presence and exited the house. Just before apparating away, he shot the Dark Mark into the sky above the house._

Harry woke up in the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey came bustling over to him. "Ah! You're awake. How are you feeling, Mr. Potter? You took quite the tumble."

"Yes, I'm feeling fine, but I need to see the headmaster," Harry said.

"I'm afraid you'll have to wait until you're all rested," said Madam Pomfrey.

"No!" Harry snapped. "I have to see him now! Voldemort killed Hermione's parents!"

Madam Pomfrey's face froze. "You Know Who killed Dr. & Dr. Granger? How do you know this?"

Yes, and I saw it through Voldemort's mind" Harry said.

Madam Pomfrey ran to her office, and floo-called Albus. Within minutes, Albus strode into the main part of the hospital wing, closely followed by a hysterical Hermione.

"Harry, what did you see?" Albus asked.

Harry told the three people in the room what happened.

"I would never, ever, go dark! That murdering fool!" Hermione screamed.

"I know Hermione," Harry said. "I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault Harry," said Hermione, sobbing harder than ever. "I don't have any other family, what am I going to do?"

Albus gently pulled Hermione into a hug. "Hermione," he said quietly. "I am quite certain that the Weasleys would be happy to offer you a home. I will speak with Arthur and Molly tonight. Please return to Gryffindor tower and take Harry with you."

"Can you contact Mrs. Weasley for me?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, I will," said Albus, standing up. "Now go back to Gryffindor Tower and rest."

Harry, not wanting to give Madam Pomfrey a chance to stop him, quickly gathered his things, and slipped an arm around Hermione's shoulders, gently guiding her out of the hospital wing. They detoured to the library, to retrieve a disgruntled Ron, who had been studying with Hermione prior to Dumbledore summoning her.

"What happened Hermione?" Ron asked worriedly, seeing her tears.

Harry and Hermione explained to Ron what happened, and before they knew it, they were in a group hug.

"I know that mum and dad will happily take you in, and Ginny already looks at you like a big sister," Ron said.

"Thanks Ron," Hermione said, a slight smile showing through her tears. "I'm lucky to have you two as friends."

2


	58. Gringotts

Note & Disclaimer: I can't believe Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's (Philosopher's) Stone was released 20 years ago. Alas, the author of this story is on summer vacation but the work world continues on as usual. Any chapter posting delays are on my end. As always, Harry Potter and his world belong to J.K. Rowling, no copyright infringement is intended.

 **Chapter 58: Gringotts**

Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat in a corner of the Gryffindor common room, quietly talking about how to get into Gringotts to get Helga Hufflepuff's cup out of the Lestrange vault.

"We could say that we're related to Bellatrix," said Ron.

"No Ron, we cannot fool the goblins!" said Hermione. "They would know that we were lying and see through any disguise."

"We could say that we're on Bellatrix's orders to get the cup," Harry said.

"Now that's just silly, really Harry?" said Hermione. "You are Harry Potter, no one is going to believe you are suddenly on speaking terms with an inner circle Death Eater."

"Then how are we going to do this?" Ron asked.

"We really only have one option," said Hermione. "Polyjuice potion."

"What?" Harry and Ron asked.

"Oh, you two don't think, do you?" Hermione snapped. "I can be Bellatrix!"

"But who would we be?" Harry asked.

"I'll have to go get it myself," Hermione said. "I can get to the vault being Bellatrix, grab the cup, and go."

"But Hermione..." Ron started.

"No Ron, I know what I'm doing," Hermione snapped.

"But how are you going to get in and out without being seen with Dumbledore?" Harry asked.

"He can send me with a portkey," Hermione said. "Or he can use one of his invisibility spells."

"That could work, but doesn't Gringotts have all sorts of security? And didn't you just say we can't fool the goblins?" Harry said slowly. "And why can't we just tell the goblins what we want and why it is so important?"

"With Polyjuice, I am a different person, I'm not just in disguise. Professor Dumbledore said the fewer beings that know, the better. I'll go share my idea with him now," Hermione said excitedly. She bolted out of the portrait hole before Harry or Ron could say anything else to stop her.

 _Two weeks later:_

"Miss Granger," Professor Dumbledore said. "I do not like this idea but I will allow it for lack of better options. Bellatrix would apparate straight into the alley, skipping the Leaky Cauldron, therefore, I will take you there and wait for your exit from the bank."

"Is the Polyjuice potion ready?" Hermione asked.

"Yes it is," Professor Dumbledore said. "But I must warn you Miss Granger, if you find yourself in trouble, I will be unable to help you. Further, if I am discovered, we will both have a lot of explaining to do."

"I understand the risks and potential consequences, but I also understand the importance of obtaining this artifact," Hermione said honestly.

He nodded. "Now Miss Granger, Professor Snape was able to get us some of her hair when he saw her last week."

"Oh good, let's add it to the flask now," Hermione said.

A minute later, Hermione was Bellatrix. Professor Dumbledore handed her a thick cloak and the two moved across the Hogwarts' grounds. Once they were outside the wards, Dumbledore apparated them to the alley right outside Gringotts.

Hermione (Bellatrix) entered Gringotts with her head held high and a dangerous expression. She picked a goblin teller and stopped in front of him.

"Yes?" the goblin grunted.

"I wish to enter my vault to retrieve an item. I do not have all day," Bellatrix gazed nastily at the goblin, her impatience obvious to others in the bank.

After a moment of consideration, the teller called out to another goblin, instructing him to escort Madam Lestrange down to her vault.

Hermione was relieved to avoid any additional security measures on the way to the Lestrange vault. The surly goblin opened the vault and stood back from the entrance. Hermione looked inside, located the cup and picked it up confidently. A painful burning sensation was her warning the objects contained their own protective measures. It also served to warn her of the now imminent discovery of her real identity by the goblin. She attempted to adjust the cup so as to not touch it with her bare skin but the goblin noticed her discomfort immediately.

"Is there a problem, Madam Lestrange? The contents only cause harm to those outside of the family."

"I demand you remove this foul curse at once! Do not cross me, goblin."

"It is not possible. Additional security will be arriving shortly. Thievery is not tolerated at Gringotts."

Hermione felt a hand on her shoulder and heard a whispered command in her ear to take the cup and flee. Without a thought, she obeyed after tucking the cup into an inner pocket of her robes. Realizing she had no real idea how to get back out of the bank, she felt the hand on her should move and followed its directions to the surface and out of the bank. The minute she burst through the front doors, Professor Dumbledore disapparated with her back to the gates of Hogwarts.

"You did well," he said. "You stayed in character as Bellatrix, even as things started going bad."

Hermione carefully removed the cup from her pocket, placing it on the desk, taking care not to touch the metal. Albus handed her Gryffindor's sword. In a swift motion, she stabbed the cup. It released a small scream before cracking in half. All traces of dark magic vanished as the wisps of smoke dissipated.

"Now we must locate the remaining three," said Albus with relief. "You may return to Gryffindor tower and let the boys know you are ok. I will deal with the goblins if they cause any trouble."

"You did it!" said Harry and Ron together as they raced over to her. Since the Christmas holidays began the day before, they were the only ones present in the common room.

"Yes, and I'm so relieved," she said with a smile. "One step closer to total Voldy destruction."

2


	59. Ravenclaw's Diadem

**Chapter 59: Ravenclaw's Diadem**

The next day, Harry and the others were in the Headmaster's office discussing the remaining horcruxes.

"I figured out which item that used to belong to Rowena Ravenclaw what Voldemort likely turned into a horcrux," said Albus, pausing for a moment to be sure he had their full attention, "It must be her long lost diadem."

"Oh! I remember reading about that!" Hermione said cheerfully.

"Good, good," said Albus with a smile. "Now, I think it is hidden somewhere in this school, but I do not know where."

"Wait!" Harry said. "What about the Room of Requirement?"

"Brilliant!" Ron said.

"Let's go now," said Albus.

Harry walked back and forth three times before a door appeared. Harry held the door open for everyone to enter.

"Wow!" said Ron. "It's like a storage room!"

"It probably is," said Hermione. "Come on. Let's get searching!" They looked through shelves and shelves of junk stashed in the room over a span of likely centuries.

"Professor," Ron said. "Why can't we just summon it?"

"Because it will likely be charmed not to react to a summoning charm," said Albus. "Now, it must be in here. Keep looking!"

Two hours later, Ron called from a far left corner of the room, "Hey! Over here!" Everyone moved towards him.

"What is it?" Hermione asked breathlessly.

"I found something!" said Ron, pointing to a tarnished metal crown sitting on a shelf.

Albus carefully lifted the object off the shelf; he could feel the dark magic contained in the object. "Excellent find Ronald. Let's get this back to my office and destroy it."

They were just about to leave the room when they heard the door open. Malfoy appeared first, with Crabbe and Goyle right behind him.

"Look here fellas!" said Malfoy with a sneer. "It's the Golden boy with Weasel and the mud-blood! Oh, and there's our favorite Headmaster!"

Harry tried to keep hold of his temper.

"Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Crabbe, and Mr. Goyle," said Albus. "Fifteen points from Slytherin for use of that foul word. Please do not repeat it."

"I'm not afraid of you, you old fool!" said Malfoy. "What brings you all to the Room of Hidden Things?"

"None of your business. What about you?" Harry said coolly.

"Likewise," said Malfoy. "Now if you'll excuse us..."

Suddenly, an image appeared in Harry's mind. The image showed Malfoy talking about a cabinet in the Room of Requirement then it showed Death Eaters in the school then he saw Albus flying from the Astronomy tower.

Harry came back to reality. "Don't do it Malfoy," he said. "I know what you're up to."

Ron, Hermione, and Albus looked surprised.

"What am I doing then?" Malfoy snarled.

"You're planning on letting Death Eaters into the castle by using the vanishing cabinet you are trying to repair," Harry said. "That's why you're in here."

Malfoy looked livid. "How do you know?" he shouted.

Albus took out his wand and said, "Enough! (Pointing to the three Gryffindors) Please go wait for me in my office. Mr. Malfoy, come to my office in one hour. Bring Misters Crabbe and Goyle with you."

Malfoy looked scared as Professor Dumbledore escorted them down to the Slytherin common room.

Albus met the Gryffindors in his office and asked Harry to explain in detail what he saw. As he thought about Harry's words, he handed the sword to Ron, who used it to destroy the horcrux.

"Thank you Harry. I will be sure to put a stop Mr. Malfoy's plans."

"I don't want to see you dead, Albus," Harry said shakily. "You've been there for me all my life."

Albus hugged Harry tightly. "I don't want to die either Harry," he said quietly. "I know that I will someday, but not yet. I have a lot more to live for." He smiled at Harry. "Trust me," he continued. "I will stop him."

Harry smiled. Good, he thought. It's about time someone stood up to Malfoy!

2


	60. How To Apparate

Disclaimer: Guess what? I'm not making any money from this as I'm just playing with the characters and world for fun. All Harry Potter characters were created and belong to the brilliant J.K. Rowling.

 **Chapter 60: How to Apparate**

"I'm so excited to learn how to apparate today! Then we'll be able to travel so much quicker, assuming we pass the test for the license," Hermione said.

"Let's just hope that we don't splinch," Ron added, along with a nod of agreement from Harry.

"Oh, you'll be just fine," said Hermione, "There will be a teacher there to immediately fix any problems."

The trio entered the Great Hall where they saw Professor Dumbledore speaking with a woman. The woman had long, wavy, black, hair, and a gentle smile.

"Hello! My name is Jessica and I will be teaching you how to apparate. These lessons will prepare you to take the test and you will not be licensed until you do so. This room is temporarily spelled to allow you to apparate within its bounds, the wards of the castle will not allow you to move beyond this room. To try will result in splinching," said the woman. "Apparition requires intense focus on willing yourself to a new destination. You cannot apparate to a place where you have never been unless you are very familiar with map coordinates. I will be going around the room in alphabetical order to explain to you one-on-one how the process works and attempt to guide you through your first movement. Once I've spoken to you, you are free to continue practicing. If you run into trouble, we will sort you out, no need to panic. Right, starting with Miss Bones then."

When it was Harry's turn, he was convinced he was going to get it right the first time. Jessica instructed Harry to focus intently on willing himself to be where he was trying to go. She explained he could use a bit of a turn in leaving to help with the motion but that it was not necessary. He turned, and found himself standing in exactly the same spot. His confused face met the instructor's reassuring smile. He sighed before bringing his focus back to what he was trying to do. After several more tries, he managed to disappear and reappear in the designated spot across the hall near Albus.

"Good job, my boy. Now, try returning to your original space," said Albus.

After the lesson, Harry felt slightly more confident about apparation. Since Jessica said they had to practice on their own time, Albus promised Harry they'd go into Hogsmeade to practice.

"Now if we have to retrieve another horcrux, we can apparate there!" Harry said.

Albus shook his head. "No Harry, many buildings and magical locations have wards similar to those around Hogwarts, which prevent it. Also, I believe I know what the other two horcruxes are and we must locate Nagini."

Harry's mouth dropped open in shock, "Nagini is a horcrux?"

Albus nodded.

"I will likely have to kill both Voldemort and Nagini at the same time, he never lets her out of his sight," Harry mumbled.

Albus nodded again. "I'm sorry Harry," he said quietly. "But for now, let's concentrate on your apparation test. You will not be able to take the test until you are seventeen but by then I want the process to be simple for you."

"Thanks Albus," Harry said with a wide smile on his face.


	61. The Worst News

Disclaimer & Note: Harry Potter characters and world belong to J.K. Rowling. No copyright infringement is intended.

Thank you all for sticking through 61 chapters of this story! This chapter and a few around it might have some formatting issues; I'm looking into them.

 **Chapter 61: The Worst News**

Harry wandered through the castle after curfew, wearing his invisibility cloak over his pajamas, trying to escape the images from his recent nightmare. He halted mid-stride upon hearing voices in the hall ahead of him.

"Severus, Harry needs to know. If he doesn't know, he'll never be able to defeat Lord Voldemort."

Snape snorted. "Headmaster, the Dark Lord will be defeated but I highly doubt Potter is a horcrux."

"Severus, this is not a theory, it is a fact," said Albus' voice. "He must die before Voldemort will be mortal."

"If Potter is dead, how is he supposed to kill the Dark Lord?"

"Harry will be able to come back to us," said Albus. "But Severus, I can't do it. I simply cannot. You'll have to do it."

"You're a Gryffindor, Headmaster. Use that foolish Gryffindor bravery," Professor Snape said.

"Severus, I am not dark," said Albus. "I cannot kill him. Harry views me as a father figure, could he ever trust me again? Harry does not have the same feelings towards you."

"So you will tolerate him seeing me as even more evil? Fine, but you will explain this to him. You will also tell him what you've ordered me to do. Remember, Headmaster, the Dark Lord is planning an attack on Hogsmeade. He will not wait for you to get around to speaking with the boy," said Snape. "The attack on Hogsmeade will offer our best chance of killing the Dark Lord."

"I know Severus, but I wish there were another way."

Without waiting to hear the end of the exchange, Harry turned and bolted back to Gryffindor tower. The tears started falling even before he was fully inside the common room. Harry dropped into one of the squashy chairs. He tried to process that he was a horcrux, had to die, and Professor Snape would be killing him.

"Harry?" a voice said quietly. Harry looked up to see Professor McGonagall standing just inside the portrait hole. But instead of her usual stern gaze, her gaze was filled with concern. "Are you quite alright?" she asked.

Harry took a few deep breaths before answering, "Yes Professor. I had another nightmare." He knew he couldn't tell Professor McGonagall the full truth.

"Why are you here, Professor?" Harry asked.

"I came to escort you to the Headmaster," said Professor McGonagall. "He said it was urgent." Harry stood quickly and followed Professor McGonagall through the quiet halls.

As soon as Harry entered, Albus realized immediately that Harry was crying. Harry sat down as Professor McGonagall left.

"Harry, my dear boy, what's wrong?" Albus asked. He wasn't feeling much better himself, but Harry came first.

"I think I know why you want to see me. I heard your conversation with Professor Snape."

Albus sighed deeply. "Yes Harry, that is why I called you but why, in the name of Merlin, were you out of bed after curfew?"

"Because I could not sleep after a nightmare and I paused when I realized you were talking about me."

Albus chuckled. "At times you are so similar to your father. Now, Harry, I'm sorry, but you will have to die before you can defeat Voldemort. The final two horcruxes are Nagini and you." He voice cracked. "Do not worry, you will be able to come back and will not stay dead. Severus Snape will deal out the killing blow and will attempt to make it as smooth as possible."

"How? Death is final."

"Not this time Harry. When you die, I'm sure someone will be there to help you turn around. You've got so many people there who love you Harry."

"Where is 'there' Albus?"

"I do not have an answer to that, perhaps you will be able to tell me when this is all over."

In an effort to move away from contemplating his own death for a moment, he questioned Albus about the timing of the upcoming attack. Albus, looking tired, explained he anticipated it would happen within the next two days. Harry listened in silence.

A distant "BOOM" interrupted their quiet contemplation. A strangely echoing voice announcing, "All of you should prepare to die!"

Voldemort was in Hogsmeade.


	62. The Final Attack

Author's note: No worries, this is not the last of the story. My goal is to have Harry go to Hogwarts for his 7th year, then see him as an adult and how being raised by Albus paid off.

 **Chapter 62: The Final Attack**

"Harry, this is it," said Albus. "Get out there."

"But…" Harry said.

By the look on Albus' face, he knew that he had to go. He ran down the stairs and found Professor McGonagall fighting a Death Eater in the entrance hall.

"Harry Potter," said a voice. Harry spun around to see Voldemort standing there. "How good it is to see you again."

"You're going to die tonight," Harry said.

Voldemort laughed. "You can't scare me, Harry; I am much too powerful and very nearly immortal," he said as he aimed his wand directly at Harry's chest.

A jet of green light shot out of his wand, slamming into Harry. Harry did not feel any pain as the curse hit him; his surroundings merely went dark. After a moment, he became aware he was lying down. Sitting up, he blinked his eyes and looked around. It was not dark but not really light, almost a glowing gray mist. As he looked around for some sign of where he could be, a woman stepped into his sight. She had red hair, green eyes, and a soft smile.

"Mum…?" Harry whispered.

Lily's smile increased as she drew her son into a hug, tears leaking from her eyes. "My handsome son, you must go back, it is not your time to be here. Know that James and I love you and we are so proud of you. You are so very brave. Albus is waiting for you. Try to stay out of trouble."

"I miss you and dad, but I'm going back, I have a dark lord to kill," Harry said.

With a final squeeze, Harry slipped from his mother's arms and willed himself back to his mortal body.

He awoke on the battlefield with a slight headache and a sore chest from where the killing curse hit. He looked up just in time to see Albus killing Bellatrix. Her cackle stopped abruptly as she fell limply to the ground. Voldemort was nowhere in sight. Harry ran over to Albus and threw his arms around the old man, whispering that Voldemort hit him with a killing curse so now the horcrux was dead.

Albus smiled at him and made him promise to discuss the details later, before saying, "Nagini is dead, and Lord Voldemort can now be killed. You must find him, Harry."

"I know," Harry said. "I'm ready."

Professor Snape approached at a near sprint, interrupting the moment of calm, "The Dark Lord said he killed Harry Potter."

"Yes he did," Harry said. "So now you don't have to."

Thank Merlin," said Snape. "I didn't want to in the first place."

"You didn't?" Harry asked. "But I thought you hated me!"

"I hate some of the things you do, but I don't hate you," Snape said.

"I killed him! Why is he still here?" screamed Voldemort. "You must have betrayed me Severus, you must be the spy I've been trying to identify for months."

Voldemort continued raging at Snape, giving Harry a moment to prepare himself. He pulled out his wand and prepared himself to fire before drawing Voldemort's attention towards himself.

"This is the last time you and your Death Eaters will cause problems, prepare to die," said Harry, with more bravado than he felt.

Voldemort lazily aimed his own wand at Harry and cast the killing curse. At the same time, Harry shouted the stunning spell. The two spells hit each other reflecting back onto their casters. Voldemort was dead before he could hit the ground, his face held a look of total shock. Harry, using his Seeker reflexes, easily ducked the returning Stunner.

In the eerie silence that followed the death of Lord Voldemort, Harry stood with Albus and Professor Snape, gazing at the withered shell that was once a feared dark lord.


	63. Harry's Seventeenth Birthday

Author's note: The next chapter is going to be filled with a big surprise! If you have any suggestions on Harry's adult hood, please place your suggestion in a review. And as always, thanks for the reviews!

 **Chapter 63: Harry's Seventeenth Birthday**

The rest of the year went well, and for once, no one was scared. Even the nastier Slytherins realized they'd been on the losing side. With Voldemort gone, Professor Snape relaxed and became a better teacher for it. The students would never mistake him for Professor Dumbledore; but all non-Slytherin students no longer dreaded potions.

The end of July saw Albus planning what he hoped would be Harry's best birthday party. The house elves baked a special cake; chocolate with chocolate frosting, covered in m&ms. Albus sent invitations to all of Harry's friends and their families. Mrs. Weasley insisted she would provide the rest of the food since Albus mentioned the cake was covered. All of Harry's friends were quick to respond saying they would all be at the party.

Albus spent days searching for the perfect present, before remembering a long ago time when Harry begged for a watch. He smiled, and entered a store with a large selection of watches in the window. Not only did Harry want a watch, a watch was the traditional gift given to wizards coming of age in the wizarding world. On his way back to Hogwarts, Albus thought of something else he could give Harry.

The morning of his seventeenth birthday saw Harry skipping down to the Great Hall. He had a feeling he knew why there were so many extra people in the castle but thoughts of breakfast were his current focus. As he pushed open the doors of the Great Hall, he heard a shout of, "Surprise!" from his friends and family.

He stood there shocked, before fully entering the hall. All day celebrations it was then.

"Happy Birthday my dear boy," said Albus.

Harry smiled. He liked how Albus was still calling him his dear boy, even if he was of age. He couldn't imagine it any other way.

"Oh Harry, you're finally 17!" said Hermione.

"Let's eat cake!" said an excited Ron.

"We're having the cake with lunch, Ron, eat your breakfast," reprimanded Mrs. Weasley.

Harry laughed. Trust Ron to focus completely on the cake.

With breakfast complete, Harry spent the morning outside on the Quidditch pitch with his friends, playing informal games and trying out all sorts of stunts. The happy group re-entered the hall for lunch. Harry spied the massive cake sitting on its own table in front of the head table. Mrs. Weasley and the other adults insisted everyone ate lunch before serving up the cake and moving the pile of presents to a place where Harry could reach them and most everyone present could see.

Harry opened a box from Mrs. Weasley, revealing a shirt that said, "Happy 17th Harry!" on it; he quickly pulled the shirt over his head before reaching for the next gift. He gasped as he looked at the beautiful watch, getting lost for a moment in a long ago memory.

 _Flashback:_

 _Alby, I want a watch like yours!" said three year-old Harry._

" _No Harry," Albus said firmly. "When you get older."_

 _Harry's eyes filled with tears. Albus gave him his stuffed phoenix that always seemed to get Harry to stop crying but Harry threw it back and wailed louder. Albus muttered, "Why did Minerva have to go on vacation?"_

 _End of flashback_

Of all the childhood memories he'd forgotten, Harry could remember that one clearly. He looked up at Albus and said, "Thanks Albus. This is perfect and you remembered."

Albus smiled and indicated he should open a large, sturdy, box next. He opened it, completely astonished to see what looked like a pensieve nestled securely inside. He smiled widely and stood to properly hug his guardian and surrogate father.

Harry opened the rest of his gifts, thanking each of his friends for their selections. The party attendees headed back to their homes around mid-afternoon. Albus helped Harry carry his gifts to his rom but left him to arrange them. After a quiet dinner Albus stopped Harry from going straight to bed.

"Harry, there's one more thing," said Albus. "No matter what, you always have a home here, even once I am gone. This is your home."

Harry could not stop the tears and Albus gently gathered his boy into a tight hug before sending him off to bed, as if he were a toddler.


	64. A Lesson in Horses

Author's note: Don't worry, you'll never see Dumbledore die, he'll stay alive all the way through the story. Now, I promised a surprise in this chapter, so here it comes! But warning, this is not a good surprise. However, there will be a good surprise in a few more chapters. Please enjoy, and review!

Editor's Note: An interlude of sorts; I apologize to all my fellow the horse-riders out there, I attempted to add some realism to the trail ride scenario but I always get the slow, stubborn horses when I do those.

 **Chapter 64: A Lesson in Horses**

The weekend before fall term started, Ron and Ginny invited Harry to join them and Hermione for a trail ride. As it turned out, both Ron and Ginny had gone with Hermione several times over the summer. Harry readily agreed and flooed to the Burrow on Saturday morning so he could portkey to the stable with them.

The instructors assigned each student a well-behaved horse before going through the basics of how to ride in the enclosed arena. An experienced guide would lead the group onto the trails once everyone was comfortable. Harry found riding a horse similar to a broom in many ways but the horse, Brownie, could definitely think for itself and seemed to know he had no idea what he was doing.

As they rode along the trail, Ginny's horse, Wildfire, started acting up. She attempted to control him but did not quite have the experience to do so. The gelding half-reared and tried to charge forward, ramming into Brownie from behind. Brownie spooked, bucked, and bolted. Harry was totally unprepared for the action and lost his seat, hitting the ground hard. Despite wearing a helmet, he managed to hit the back of his head at exactly the wrong angle, on the sharp edge of a rock.

Harry opened his eyes to find himself in a dimly lit room, judging by how dark it was outside the window, he concluded it was nighttime. A very kind looking woman came bustling over to him and said, "Mr. Potter, you're awake!"

"Who are you?" Harry asked in confusion.

The woman gasped and said, "I knew it!" She took out a stick and waved it in Harry's face. A moment later, she said, "Harry, I'm Madam Pomfrey, mediwitch at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You have a concussion from hitting your head when you were thrown from the horse you were riding."

"Will I ever remember anything again?" Harry asked. "How old am I? What's my full name?"

"Yes, Harry. The memory loss should only be temporary. Your name is Harry James Potter, you are seventeen years old, and just about to start your Seventh year of school."

"Are my parents here?" Harry asked.

Madam Pomfrey sniffed, holding back tears. "Your parents are dead, killed by Lord Voldemort but don't worry, you killed him during the last school year. Albus should be returning shortly, I forced him to go get some sleep."

Harry felt tears running down his face. Suddenly, the doors opened to reveal a tall man quickly coming in, and stopped when he saw Harry crying. "What's wrong, Harry?" he said, pulling Harry into a hug.

"Albus, he doesn't remember anyone, not even himself," said Madam Pomfrey. "He should get his memory back in a week or two, but until then, you need to watch over him and make sure that he's healing and is not getting worse. I explained the basics to him but I want to keep him here through the night so I can monitor him. He may return to your quarters during the later afternoon tomorrow."

Albus nodded to acknowledge Poppy's words, still not letting go of Harry. The matron departed to give them some privacy.


	65. Don't You Remember?

**Chapter 65: Don't You Remember?**

Albus felt lost watching Harry struggle. Harry would start classes but would continue staying with Albus until he was back to normal At this point, Albus knew Harry was not sleeping well. Additionally, he recognized behavior changes in his ward, that while common in those with head injuries were alarming to witness. Harry swore in frustration with the simplest tasks, despite Albus' gentle reminders about proper language and manners. Two days after the accident, Albus checked on Harry in his room, only to find him nearly pulling out his hair from all the stress. Albus, not knowing what else to do, quietly removed all sharp objects from Harry's possession and took the boy's wand for safe-keeping.

A few days later, during the Welcome Feast, Harry sat with Albus at the head table. Albus patiently pointed out the teachers, explaining what subjects they taught and stating their names. He explained to Harry more about the war, hoping to help trigger Harry's memories.

"Albus, I can't remember anything! I know I'm a wizard and I can cast spells but if you ask me to identify my friends, I don't know who they are," said Harry, feeling frustrated.

"My dear boy, your memories are not gone forever, you had a terrible concussion and you brain needs time to heal. You will attend classes and your normal routine will help put the pieces back in place, don't worry. Ron and Hermione will be there to assist you."

"I have to go to classes? Even though I don't remember what they are?" Harry asked worriedly. He thought of the previous few days in which Albus attempted to help him heal by showing him memories of his childhood and earlier years at Hogwarts. The results of these talks were nights of lost sleep or awful nightmares. Harry suffered alone as he refused to wake Albus, recognizing the man needed sleep.

After the feast, Madam Pomfrey demanded Harry accompany her back to the hospital wing for a check-up. Albus joined them in time to hear the result of the diagnostic scans. The most significant finding was the significant level of exhaustion that Harry was attempting to hide. Both adults looked at Harry, waiting for him to explain why he was not sleeping.

"Fine! Something is wrong! I lost my memory! I'm having these bloody awful nightmares about events I cannot remember and about my fears that I won't get any of my memories back. Happy?"

Madam Pomfrey motioned for him to take a seat. "No, we're not happy, Harry. But now that we know, we can give you a dreamless sleep potion that will allow you to get a full night's rest without dreaming at all."

"I don't want to wake Albus, he is not getting much sleep either. I don't want to be a bother," said Harry quietly.

"Harry, my dear boy, you are not a bother. Unless you tell me there is a problem, I cannot help you fix it. As your parent, you are my priority." Albus emphasized his words by pulling a reluctant Harry into a fierce hug.

The first day of term was just over a week after the accident. Albus woke Harry early, prodding him into dressing and going to the Great Hall for breakfast. He again sat with Albus at the head table, slowly spooning porridge into his mouth, paying no attention to the other students. Professor McGonagall shoved a timetable of classes in front of him before moving to distribute them to the rest of the Gryffindors. Harry's spoon halted halfway to his mouth, the porridge dripping off the spoon and landing in his lap. September 2nd, how was it September 2nd? Wasn't it still August? Several pieces aligned suddenly in his head. Professor Snape sat watching Harry over his tea.

"Is there a problem, Mr. Potter?" drawled the quiet voice of the potions' master.

"Professor Snape, what happened in the past week? I remember riding horses, then nothing." Harry turned confused eyes onto his professor, waiting for an answer.

"Mr. Potter, you were thrown from your horse. You got a nasty concussion from the impact of your head on a large rock. One of the effects of the concussion was memory loss. Had your memory returned?" Professor Snape arched an eyebrow in question at the boy.

Harry frowned for a moment. "I think it is back. I should speak with Madam Pomfrey. Do I have time before potions, Professor?"

"Just this once, I will allow you to be late. Run, speak with Madam Pomfrey, and Albus, who is likely with her then report to potions. You will have plenty of time to complete the review assignment." Professor Snape made a vague shooing motion with his hand as he downed his tea and stood to head to the dungeons for class.

"Sir?" Harry's voice halted Professor Snape's progress.

"Yes, Mr. Potter?"

"Where is my wand?"

"I have no idea. You will need to speak with the Headmaster. Now, go."

Harry raced to the hospital wing, sliding to a stop in front of Madam Pomfrey and Albus.

"What is it, Harry? Why are you not in potions?" asked Albus.

"My memory is back sir, but I have no idea what happened in the past week. Its like I just woke from a fog. What happened in the past week? And Professor Snape is allowing me to be late just this once."

"We are pleased to hear you memory is back. You may remember bits and pieces of what happened in the past week but it also might be lost forever. Now, run along to potions before Professor Snape decides you are taking too long and I have to sort you out from being a potions tester." Madam Pomfrey patted his shoulder and pointed towards the exit.

"Does he often use his Seventh Year students as test subjects?" Asked Harry, eyes widening.

Albus caught his eye, "Only the ones who are late with permission."

Harry completely forgot to ask about his wand, taking off at a brisk jog for the dungeon classroom.


	66. Privileges and Punishments

Note: Two long chapters in a row, can you believe it? There's more trouble ahead for our troubled protagonist. We are also starting to wind down and toying with the possibility of a sequel. Stay tuned!

 **Chapter 66: Privileges and Punishments**

As the second week of term ended, Professor McGonagall called for a school-wide meeting of all the Seventh Year students. She asked them to stay behind in the Great Hall after dinner on a Thursday evening. Once the younger students were all out of the hall, she called for their attention and the talking gradually stopped in the hall.

"Seventh Years, who are of age, are allowed to go into Hogsmeade at any time, with the exception of times that fall during their classes. You must inform your Head of House that you are leaving the castle and when you anticipate you will return. You are not allowed to take a younger student with you. If your crush is a Sixth Year or below, they may only accompany you during designated Hogsmeade weekends, any questions? If your crush is below Sixth Year, tread carefully, there are rules concerning those situations. There will be harsh consequences if any student disobeys."

Professor McGonagall leveled her stern glare at all of the occupants of the hall. The group cheered her announcement but all solemnly nodded in understanding of the restrictions on the privileges.

Harry was ecstatic and immediately thought of taking Ginny, with whom he really wanted to spend some time alone. His smile slipped when he remembered she was a Sixth Year, meaning she was restricted to the designated Hogsmeade weekends. He suddenly had an idea; she could use his invisibility cloak! He dashed to Gryffindor Tower and pulled Ginny into a corner.

"Do you want to go to Hogsmeade with me tomorrow after classes?" He asked nervously.

"Yes! But it's not a Hogsmeade weekend…" stated Ginny.

"Seventh Years are allowed to go anytime and even though you are a Sixth Year, you can just use my invisibility cloak and no one will ever know," said Harry.

Ginny looked concerned but still eager to go. Harry told her to meet him in the Entrance Hall the next afternoon, directly after her last class finished.

Ginny met Harry in the Entrance Hall right after dropping her bag in the tower. Harry met her there after telling Professor McGonagall where he was going. He handed Ginny his invisibility cloak and made sure she was completely covered before they set out for Hogsmeade.

Arriving in Hogsmeade, they entered The Three Broomsticks for butterbeer. After a moment, Harry decided he wanted to try firewhiskey. Ginny tried to talk him out of it, her voice sounding strangely like her mother's. But Harry insisted and Madam Rosmerta served him a shot of firewhiskey. Ginny watched in disapproval as Harry downed the first shot and ordered another. She sighed in frustration. She loved Harry but there was no way this was going to end well. Twenty minutes and three shots later, Ginny went to the toilet. When she returned, she took one look at Harry's dazed expression and said, "You're drunk!" she snarled.

Madam Rosmerta came bustling over to them. "What's going on here?" she asked.

"Harry's drunk and we need to return to the castle," muttered Ginny.

Madam Rosmerta looked at Harry, agreeing with Ginny's assessment. She also knew Ginny was a Sixth Year. "I cannot save you two from trouble but I will let Professor McGonagall know that she needs to meet you at the gates. Now go before he attracts more attention. He is of age so I cannot refuse to sell him firewhiskey."

Ginny nodded and grabbed Harry's arm to begin steering them out the door. Pausing, she removed some coins from Harry's pocket to pay their tab. Ginny then herded a stumbling Harry out the door and back up the path towards the school. A furious Professor McGonagall met them at the gates, firmly instructing Ginny to wait for her at her office. Professor McGonagall guided a dazed but quiet Harry to the hospital wing, telling Madam Pomfrey the boy needed to sleep it off and no sobriety or hangover potions were to be used. Madam Pomfrey forced him into pajamas and settled him into bed, leaving a bin nearby just in case.

Professor McGonagall ushered Ginny into her office, and waited as the girl explained the events of that evening. Taking twenty-five points from Gryffindor, she instructed Ginny to return to the tower, no detours. Once Miss Weasley left, Minerva tossed some floo powder into the fire and called for Albus. When he answered, she told him to step through. A confused Albus Dumbledore soon sat across from her, patiently waiting for an explanation.

"Mr. Potter went into Hogsmeade tonight. He took Miss Weasley with him then proceeded to get drunk. Miss Weasley attempted to talk him out of drinking firewhiskey but he ignored her warnings. Miss Weasley is safely back in her dormitory while Mr. Potter is in the hospital wing sleeping off his intoxication. I took points from Miss Weasley but you are in charge of punishing Mr. Potter. Since he knew the consequences of his actions, you must be firm with him. I suggest detention and loss of points. I also suggest you warn him about what could happen in event of a repeat performance."

Faced with an extremely angry Professor McGonagall, Albus promised to speak with Harry in the morning, as his Headmaster, not his parent.

Harry woke up in the hospital wing. He wondered what landed him this time.

"Mr. Potter," said Madam Pomfrey's voice. She sounded furious, not relieved.

"What happened, Madam Pomfrey? Why am I here?" Harry asked.

Madam Pomfrey shouted, "What's wrong? What's wrong is you took a sixth year student into Hogsmeade without permission then returned to the castle, drunk!"

Now Harry could understand his aching head and absent memory of returning to Hogwarts from Hogsmeade. He knew sneaking Ginny into Hogsmeade was wrong but had not meant to get caught. He knew he would be in a lot of trouble.

"The Headmaster is expecting you to be in his office within the next five minutes, and don't expect to get away with this!" continued a seething Madam Pomfrey. With a final glare, she stalked into her office, slamming the door. Harry cringed, quickly got out of bed, threw on the robes next to him and set off for the Headmaster's office, as fast as his aching head and rolling stomach would allow.

Albus looked up as Harry entered. "Take a seat," he commanded, the twinkle in his eyes was definitely absent. "Mr. Potter, you removed an underage sixth year student from Hogwarts' grounds without permission. You purposefully took steps to hide her from view. This indicates that you understood this to be wrong but went ahead anyway. You consumed sufficient alcohol to become drunk and were unable to return to the castle under your own power. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I'm sorry sir," Harry said nervously. "I knew my actions were wrong but I suppose I let my hormones make my decisions for me. I fancy Ginny, and just wanted to spend a fun night out with her. I ignored her warning about how much alcohol I was consuming. She tried to stop things before they got out of control. I am ashamed of my actions and will accept any punishment you deem necessary, sir."

"Fifty points will be taken from Gryffindor and you will attend a month's worth of detentions with Professor Snape. Your extra Hogsmeade privileges will also be revoked until the New Year. If this happens again, you will be suspended for a period of one week and your Hogsmeade privileges will be removed for your remaining time as a student."

Harry nodded and accepted his punishment. Once dismissed, he hurriedly left the office and headed for the common room. Spying Ginny, he quietly asked to speak with her, away from the prying eyes of the common room. Ginny nodded and followed him to an empty classroom right outside the tower.

"I'm sorry Ginny. I should have listened to you. I was a fool and my actions were wrong."

Ginny smiled at Harry, accepting his apology by gently kissing him. With that, she took his hand and led him back into the common room, settling herself right next to him as they pulled out their homework.


	67. Wandless Magic

Disclaimer: In case you needed a reminder, still don't own Harry Potter.

 **Chapter 67: Wandless Magic**

In transfiguration a week or so after his first drunk experience, which the entire school seemed to know about because Malfoy kept calling him "Plastered Potter", Harry sat thinking about his back-logged homework and the immense pressure he felt this year, even though Voldemort was gone. He'd expected to feel free but didn't. His stress level not only caused him to lose focus in his classes, but also ate away at his control of his magical core. As a result, his magic chose random times to burst free, similar to accidental magic but he had to be too old to consider the bursts to be true incidents of accidental magic. He decided it was time to speak with Professor McGonagall; perhaps she would have idea about how he could control his magic.

"What can I do for you, Mr. Potter?"

"I've been feeling very stressed out lately and I think its causing my magic to go a bit crazy. I don't know what to do," Harry said.

"Have you spoken with Albus? It would likely help you to talk to someone about the problems that are causing you to feel stress," seeing him shake his head, she continued, "You may want to speak with him about these uncontrollable bursts of magic too, it is possible learning the art of wandless magic would help bring focus and control back to you. I cannot work wandless magic but both Albus and Severus can. Take your pick on who you want to speak with. Oh and Harry, please ignore Mr. Malfoy, you were the first student to get drunk this year but you will not be the last, the incident is in the past."

"The incident may be in the past, Professor, but my punishment has only just begun," said Harry quietly.

"Do you need a pass for your next class?"

"No thanks, Professor, I'll make it in time."

Harry swung his bag onto his shoulder and hurried out the door. Harry slid into his seat just as the bell rang. Professor Snape spared a mere glance at him before turning is attention towards the rest of the class. Thankfully, they were brewing in groups leaving Malfoy no time to continue his taunts.

Dinner found Ron cracking jokes, trying to get Harry to smile but Harry's frown stayed and he didn't even seem to hear his best mate. He was having a difficult time ignoring Malfoy's continuing words. He picked up his juice goblet, only to hear Malfoy yell yet another taunt.

"Hey Plastered Potter, what are you drinking tonight?"

The glass in his hand exploded, showering him and the table with bits of glass and lots of sticky, pumpkin juice. The people around him stared in shock while about half of the students in the hall roared with laughter. Harry stared at the table in shame. Hermione whispered a "Scourgify" which quickly siphoned the juice off of both Harry and the table. A loud "Boom" claimed the attention of all the students. Professor Dumbledore was on his feet with his wand raised.

"There will be no teasing of students for magical outbursts," stated the Headmaster, sternly.

Harry ducked his head and fled from the hall. He felt a hand close around his wrist, stopping his forward momentum.

"Let me go," commanded Harry.

"Its ok Harry, come talk with me," said a gentle voice Harry instantly recognized.

Once they were safely in their sitting room, Harry couldn't contain the emotions any longer.

"Nothing is ok! Not only did I have to die in order to defeat Voldemort, but also then I fall from a horse and lose my memory, only to gain it back and decide getting drunk is ok! And I'm behind in all my classes, I can't focus, and I'm having bursts of accidental magic! I'm too old to be experiencing accidental magic!' Harry's chest heaved as the tears ran unchecked down his cheeks. He vaguely wiped at them with the backs of his hands, with no real effect.

Albus listened quietly as his ward fell apart. He sensed Harry was a bit depressed and knew the boy needed to let out all of his feelings. As Harry paused, Albus caught his attention.

"It will be ok, Harry. No, just listen. You are not experiencing true accidental magic. You feel out of control so your magic is looking for an outlet. Magic is very linked to our emotions. I think it is time to start teaching you about wandless magic, which begins in a similar way as occlumency, with meditation. Don't look so skeptical. Meditation teaches control, calm, and focus."

Albus' words helped a bit but Harry still felt a sense of panic. Seeing his ward's continuing distress, Albus instructed him to sit up and began leading him through a breathing exercise. By the end, Harry's tense face relaxed and his sense of panic was gone. He still felt stressed but now felt like he could speak about it.

"We will meet two times per week to talk and continue with the meditation exercises. My door is always open to you. Our first session incorporating wandless magic will be tomorrow evening after dinner. If ever you feel desperate to talk, and still feel restless after a breathing exercise, please come to me. If I am not available, please go to Professor Snape, I will keep him updated on our lesson progress. He will not teach you at this time but he is quite knowledgeable about meditation techniques."

"Yes sir. I do feel better. I will see you tomorrow evening," said Harry, he stood to hug Albus before quietly letting himself out.

After dinner the next evening, Harry made his way to the Headmaster's office. He was feeling a bit better than the previous night, mostly because Malfoy stopped calling him "Plastered Potter" at every opportunity.

"Good Evening Harry, how are you feeling today?" Albus asked.

"I'm feeling better than yesterday," Harry shrugged.

"Did you have any magic bursts today?" questioned Albus.

"No, and I'm definitely ready to learn" Harry said.

"Right to it then. Let's start with the same breathing exercise as yesterday. Bring your focus to your breath. Feel how your chest expands to fill with air then empties. Feel the sensation of the air traveling from the outside, up your nose, down your trachea, and into your lungs. As thoughts arise, acknowledge them and return your focus to your breath. Now think about getting in touch with your magical core, if you find yourself getting distracted or frustrated, calmly return your focus to your breath."

Harry felt his eyes slip shut as he focused on his breathing. As he shifted to looking for his core, he felt a sense of wonder at the feeling of power coming from within. Following Albus' guidance, he felt himself relax. Albus instructed him to extend a hand and light the candle sitting on the desk in front of him, steering his focus back to his breathing whenever he started to tense up. About forty-five minutes into the exercise, the candle flared to life. Albus smiled but Harry never noticed, for he'd slipped into a light doze right as the flame flared. Albus gently roused him, guided him to his room, and let the teen drop into bed. All things considered, their first session was quite successful.


	68. The Apparition Test

Note: Hey there! We're approaching the end of this story and beginning to think about the possibility of a sequel. Thank you for the reviews and I hope you enjoy the chapter! By the way, the disclaimer listed at the beginning of many of theses chapters applies to all of them; I merely forget to add it with each chapter.

 **Chapter 68: The Apparition Test**

After a rough beginning, Seventh Year smoothed out for Harry. He caught up in his classes and even made an effort on his homework. His sessions with Albus were part-therapy, part-magic lessons but they really helped soothe his inner turmoil. Plus the meditation exercises helped him focus and control his magic. Through concentrated effort, he was able to perform most simple spells. He learned that his emotions really did influence his success. He did have to seek out Professor Snape on a few occasions but the professor was surprisingly professional; he listened and carefully guided Harry into a more relaxed state, without any insults. Professor Snape also taught him methods to avoid falling asleep right as he cast a spell.

Ron and Hermione were both interested in learning wandless magic but Ron did not want to do any more homework than was absolutely necessary, and Hermione could not understand why she could read books but could not directly translate that into being able to perform spells. Harry explained the meditation exercises but Hermione found she often got too fixated on her other subjects that she could not just forget about them, even for a moment. She was pleased that Harry's magical bursts stopped and that he seemed more balanced. Her research did not offer any reason an adult wizard's magic would suddenly go haywire. Harry merely shrugged in acceptance.

Seventh Year was nearing an end, and Harry finally convinced Albus he was ready for his apparition test. The morning of the test dawned clear and cool. Harry was nervous but true to his word, Albus practiced with him until he could apparate with ease.

"Let's go, Harry. We're meeting Jessica in the Ministry Apparition Office. You will be assigned test jumps to perform before returning back there to see if you passed. Are you ready?"

"Yes Albus. I'm feeling confident," said Harry, following Albus out of the castle and beyond the gates.

Albus guided Harry with side-along apparition but used minimal force, allowing the boy to travel as independently as possible. Once they'd arrived and checked in, they sat, waiting for Harry to be called. Upon hearing his name said in a familiar voice, Harry looked up and saw the Hogwarts apparition teacher from all those months ago, Jessica.

"Harry Potter? This way please," said Jessica, leading Harry into an office. Albus remained in the waiting area.

"You will perform several apparition hops today. First will be to the other side of this room. Second will be to the pavement outside of Honeydukes, you will go first, I will follow. Finally, you will apparate back here; I will go first so I can observe your appearance. Begin now."

Harry first apparated to the other side of the room with no problems, receiving a nod of acknowledgement. Harry prepared for his next destination, focusing on where he wanted to go. Harry landed outside of Honeydukes with a sigh of relief. All his body parts were still attached and he hadn't landed on anyone. Finally, he waited for Jessica to leave first, before following her back to her Ministry office. When he arrived, Jessica congratulated him on passing his test. She issued him a license, warning him to be careful, especially if apparating to places he was not totally familiar with the location. Albus congratulated him and disappeared with a quiet pop. Harry met him at the gates of Hogwarts moments later.

When Harry got back to Gryffindor Tower, he found Ginny standing outside the portrait with a rather strange look on her face.

"You might not want to go in there," she started.

"Why? How bad can it be?" questioned Harry, preparing to offer the password to the Fat Lady.

"Ron and Hermione are having an…intense snogging session on one of the sofas. Its really quite awkward," continued Ginny.

Harry looked over at Ginny, fighting the urge to grab her hand and find a much less public location. Ginny's next words stopped his thoughts completely.

"Harry, I think…I think I'm in love with you," came Ginny's quiet tone.

In shock, Harry blurted, "Will you go to the graduation dance with me?"

Ginny nodded enthusiastically and threw her arms around his neck. Harry returned the embrace, giving into his urge to kiss her.

"As much as I don't really want to stop, I think we need to go dump cold water on Ron and Hermione before other students or Professor McGonagall discover them."

"I suppose, but let's use water guns, they're more fun and we'll be a safe distance from any retaliation."

"I like the way you think, Ginny."

The pair offered the password, Dieffenbachia, to the Fat Lady. Her portrait swung open, revealing Ron and Hermione, obliviously snogging on the sofa right in front of the fire. On three, Harry and Ginny opened fire with their water guns, soaking Ron and Hermione.

"Argh! What are you doing? Harry? Ginny?" Hermione shouted, as she attempted to disentangle herself from Ron's lap.

"Get a room you two!" Ginny yelled.

Coming to her senses much quicker than Ron, Hermione looked at first Ginny, then Harry before speaking.

"How was your test, Harry?"

"Went well, I'm now licensed to apparate. You two really might want to find a different place; the common room is really quite public and awkward. I assume Ron is taking you to the graduation dance?"

"Yes, we're attending together. I'll just go change…and find my homework. I'll see you later, Ron," said Hermione as she all but sprinted to her dormitory, blushing.


	69. Graduation

Note: Sorry for the delay, both the author and I were/are enjoying a bit of vacation time before summer ends. We are still writing for fun and no copyright infringement is intended.

 **Chapter 69: Graduation**

Graduation day dawned bright and clear, allowing for the event to take place outside, next to the lake. Friends and family members gathered in chairs, waiting for the graduates to appear. With all the other students gone for the summer, the castle was oddly quiet. The only students still in the castle were either family of a graduate, friends with a graduate, or attending the dance that evening.

Professor McGonagall called for attention as the graduating class filed into their seats. They chose to wear dress robes but seemed to be in competition for the most ridiculous take on a proper hat. Once everyone was settled. Professor McGonagall extended greetings to all present before indication Professor Sprout would be the first to speak.

"Thank you Minerva," said Professor Sprout. "I adored teaching this group from the time they were first years until their O.W.L.s then even more so the ones who returned for N.E.W.T study. There were childish disagreements but no one set out to cause intentional disturbances in my class. I'm giving the Herbology Award to Neville Longbottom who is not only passionate about the subject but is truly talented in the field. My hope is he will someday decide to teach."

Neville blushed at the praise, as he returned to his seat, holding an animated Fanged Geranium statue.

Professor McGonagall stood next. "Unlike Professor Sprout, I cannot claim that you were all well-behaved in my class but often there were entertaining results, not that I was allowed to laugh in the presence of the students. The Transfiguration Award goes to Hermione Granger for her outstanding grasp of the subject matter and unrivaled drive for knowledge. I must also recognize Harry Potter, for all that he attempted to evade his homework, transfiguration came naturally to him and he never stopped reminding me of the mortifying childhood nickname his once two-year-old self gave me. No, Mr. Potter, you are not allowed to shout it out now, you may be graduating but any detention I hand out prior to the end of the ceremony, will be served tomorrow."

Harry's face fell, but a determined gleam entered his eyes as he and Hermione accepted their awards.

The rest of the ceremony passed in a blur. Before he knew it, the Headmaster was calling each student, in alphabetical order, to receive his or her certificates of completion. The Class of 1998 was officially done with their Hogwarts' education.

They attended a lunch reception before settling in for a relaxing afternoon of packing and saying goodbye to the castle. Harry moved the last of his belongings out of Gryffindor Tower and into his bedroom in Albus' living quarters. Upon finishing, he went to find Ginny, who was out on the grounds, relaxing.

Harry and Ginny strolled arm in arm around the lake, planning out their future before heading inside to dress for the dance. Harry met Ginny in the entrance hall a short time later, in order to escort her into the Great Hall. Their beaming smiles immediately caught the attention of Ron and Hermione.

"What is so exciting?" questioned Ron.

"Ginny and I were just discussing what the future may hold for us," answered Harry. "Come on, we're going to miss the beginning of the dance!"

The friends moved further into the room and proceeded to dance and party well into the night. After seeing Ginny safely through the floo to the Burrow, Harry headed for his room. He was super excited to be finished with school. Now he just needed a job and to continue planning a future he hoped would include Ginny as a more permanent fixture. He contemplated whether he should propose to Ginny on her birthday.


	70. The Wedding

Author's note: Wow! This is the last chapter of Harry's New Guardian! Look out for a sequel to follow!

 **Chapter 70: The Wedding**

The next year flew by in a flurry of wedding plans for Harry and Ginny plus Ginny's last year of school. On New Years day, Harry determined it was finally time to tell Ron and Hermione and himself and Ginny.

"Ginny and I are getting married in July," blurted Harry, just as Ron took a sip of juice at breakfast.

"What? My little sister is getting married? How long have you two been planning this?" exclaimed Ron, spraying Hermione with his mouthful of juice.

"Congratulations you two! Is there anything I can do to help?" questioned Hermione, while glaring at Ron and using a napkin and her wand to clear the juice.

"I'd like you to be my maid of honor, Hermione; and Harry wants Ron as his best man. We are not having a flower girl or ring bearer, " said Ginny, taking charge of the conversation. Hermione and Ron readily agreed.

Ginny managed to focus on her classes enough to excel in N.E.W.T. preparation while Harry worked with Albus to find them a flat. A house would come later. Ginny passed her N.E.W.T.s without a problem; at last she was done with school! The day of the wedding arrived sooner than Harry could believe. He'd moved into a flat a few months before, and with Ginny's help in decorating over Easter break, it felt like home, yet he still returned to share many meals with Albus at Hogwarts.

Their wedding was perfect in Harry's mind. He couldn't take his eyes off Ginny, and all their family and friends were there to celebrate with them. His groomsmen were Ron and Neville. Ginny's bridesmaids were Hermione and Luna. The party and dancing continued late into the night but neither the bride nor groom stayed until the end. They retreated to their flat and left for Italy the next morning. The two discussed children and decided not to wait, even though neither was sure what the future might hold.

Harry and Ginny Potter looked forward to a bright future.


End file.
